FOLSOM – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC) as a homicide.
On Nov. 5, at 2:51 p.m., staff found incarcerated person Dennis Romero, 49, unresponsive in his cell. Staff immediately activated 911 and initiated life-saving measures while transporting him to the prison’s treatment and triage area. Paramedics arrived at the institution and pronounced Romero deceased at 3:27 p.m.
Romero’s cellmate, Jacob Forbes, 23, was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SAC Investigative Services Unit and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Romero was received from Humboldt County on Nov. 22, 1996. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder. On Aug. 17, 2000, Romero was sentenced to four years by Lassen County for possessing or manufacturing a deadly weapon while in prison, a second-strike offense. On May 16, 2016, Romero was sentenced to two years by Sacramento County for aggravated battery on a peace officer by gassing while in prison, a second-strike offense. On May 31, 2022, Romero was sentenced to one year by Sacramento County for aggravated battery on a peace officer by gassing while in prison, a second-strike offense.
Forbes was received from Stanislaus County on April 11, 2024. He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, and attempted second-degree robbery, a second-strike offense.
SAC opened in 1986 and houses more than 2,200 medium-, maximum- and high-security incarcerated persons. SAC offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,500 people.
Jacob Forbes
####
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: OPEC Press Office OPEC@cdcr.ca.gov
