A 24-year-old man was sentenced on Thursday, May 21, to 25 years to life in prison for stomping a fellow inmate to death in Orange County Jail apparently because the victim vomited near him.
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Irving Josue Morales, 24, was convicted April 23 of first-degree murder in the Feb. 5, 2025, attack that killed 38-year-old Juan Vasquez Pulido at the Intake Release Center at 550 N. Flower St. in Santa Ana.
Pulido was in custody on drug-related charges when he was attacked in a cell with a handful of other inmates.
Deputy Brendan Le of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department testified that he went to have the newly booked inmates changed into jail garb when he came across the victim about 7:40 p.m.
“He was breathing very heavy, lying face down, gasping” in a pool of blood, Le testified.
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Sheriff’s Sgt. Luke Sapolu testified that Pulido vomited while in custody hours before the attack. Pulido went to lie down again on a bench and rest.
Morales is seen in surveillance video clutching at Pulido’s sweater a couple of times with Pulido brushing his hand away before Morales returns and the beating and kicking begins.
In all, there were 65 kicks to the victim’s head, Sapolu testified.
The two had no physical conflicts before the attack, Sapolu testified. And Pulido did nothing to defend himself, Sapolu said.
Pulido was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center, where he was placed in a medically induced coma and died Feb. 20, sheriff’s investigator Michael Swain testified.
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