(L.A.) Tino Tufono, 41, Died in Lancaster Prison

Case Number: 2023-01437

 
Notice provided by the government
me.lacounty.gov/case-detail/?caseNumber=2023-01437

Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner is reporting the death of a 41-year-old male that occurred at the California State Prison in Lancaster.

The coroner’s office identified the man as Tino Tufono.

Manner of Death: Suicide

Cause of Death: Sharp-Force Injuries

RIP TINO TUFONO (October 25, 1981 – February 4, 2023)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Saturday at 9:45 p.m. at the Triage and Treatment Area (TTA)of California State Prison, Los Angeles County (CSP-LAC).

The decedent appears to have been Hispanic / Latin American. Disaggregation based on race/ethnicity is federally required in the United States for the purpose of using the data in pursuit of health equity.

https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/advancing-health-equity-requires-more-better-data/

Tufono was once considered one of Fresno’s top car thieves. Between 2010 and 2011, Tufono was charged with nine felonies.

He was arrested in December 2011 by Fresno Police in connection to a homicide in Central Fresno.

 
Sources: https://kmph.com/archive/fresno-police-prolific-car-thief-wanted-for-murder

https://kmph.com/archive/police-nab-one-of-fresnos-most-wanted

Tufono, then 32 years of age, was accused of killing 25-year-old Jacob Ramirez.

A jury found Tufono guilty of second degree murder for the shooting, which occurred in a flop house.

Tufono testified that Ramirez tried to stab him with a pizza cutter, so he pulled a gun from his pocket and fired. But that pizza cutter was found underneath a pile of other stuff — just one of several reasons jurors had to doubt Tufono’s story.

The trial court sentenced Tufono to 69 years in prison.