February 14, 2026 – SOLEDAD, CA – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the February 13, 2026, death of an incarcerated person at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) as a homicide.
At approximately 9:40 a.m., staff observed incarcerated person Dan Felix unresponsive in his cell.
Staff immediately responded, initiating life-saving measures and activating 911. Outside medical ambulance staff pronounced Felix deceased at 10:01 a.m.
Felix’s cellmate, incarcerated person Bryan Ramirez, has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Felix, 47, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on March 29, 2004, sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for attempted first-degree murder as a third striker, with enhancements for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense, intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury/death, use of a firearm, and discharge of a firearm. While incarcerated, he was sentenced by Kings County on Jan. 4, 2017, to 21 years for attempted second-degree murder as a second striker, an in-prison offense, with an enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. He was also sentenced by Monterey County on July 14, 2023, to two consecutive terms of nine years, eight months for attempted second-degree murder, an in-prison offense, with enhancements for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense.
Ramirez, 30, was received from Los Angeles County on March 28, 2014. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for carjacking, second-degree robbery, and vehicle theft, with enhancements for use of a firearm and street gang act in commission of a violent felony.
SVSP opened in May 1996 in Monterey County. The institution houses approximately 2,400 minimum- and maximum-custody incarcerated individuals and employs approximately 1,500 staff.
Source & photos: CDCR
