Soledad inmate serving life sentence dies after fighting officers.

An inmate of the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad died March 21 following a fight with officers.

According to a press release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Joseph Altamirano, 61, reportedly punched an officer while inmates were being released from their cells on March 21 at about 11am.

The officer, who has not been identified, then struck Altamirano, the press release said. Altamirano fell to the ground but continued to try to assault responding officers, who used pepper spray on him.

Once officers restrained Altamirano, he began having trouble breathing, according to the press release. Staff “immediately began live-saving measures” and transported him to an outside medical facility.

An hour-and-a-half after the altercation, Altamirano was pronounced dead.

Altamirano had been imprisoned in the Soledad facility since November 2003 after being sentenced in Santa Clara County. He was serving life with the possibility of parole for attempted carjacking and attempted kidnapping as a third-striker, with enhancements for prior felony convictions of a serious offense.

The officer who was assaulted was treated at the correctional facility, while two other staff members were treated and released from a hospital.

The Correctional Training Facility Investigative Services Unit is investigating. The Coroner’s Division of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office will determine Altamirano’s cause of death.