In a shocking act of prison violence, a San Diego County inmate is accused of murdering a fellow prisoner at California State Prison, Sacramento. Authorities say Tyler Yates, 30, along with inmate Jake Kennedy, attacked 39-year-old Jonathan Rude in the facility’s main exercise yard on Sunday afternoon.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), officers discovered two “improvised weapons” at the scene. Despite immediate medical attention, Rude succumbed to his injuries.
Yates, who was originally sentenced in 2017 to eight years for first-degree burglary and assault in San Diego County, was later convicted of first-degree murder in 2024 for an in-prison killing. That conviction resulted in a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Authorities previously alleged that Yates and another inmate had attacked and killed a prisoner at the same facility in 2022.
Rude had been serving a four-year sentence for vehicle theft in Butte County. The motive behind the deadly assault remains under investigation, and prison officials are now working to determine whether additional charges will be filed against Yates and Kennedy.
This tragic incident raises serious concerns about inmate violence within the California prison system. The CDCR has not yet disclosed further details but is expected to release more information as the investigation unfolds.
