A San Jose man convicted of murdering a well regarded community college instructor nearly a decade ago is now under investigation by state prison officials after his bloodied cellmate was found dead last week, authorities said.
Eddie Ruiz, 36, was reportedly blocking view of his cell at High Desert State Prison in Susanville — where he is serving a lifetime prison sentence without the possibility of parole — the afternoon of Oct. 17, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
When Ruiz was ordered to remove the obstruction, correctional officers “observed blood and cell mate Roman Ruiz with visible wounds,” the CDCR stated in a news release. After removing Eddie Ruiz from the cell, the officers tried to resuscitate the injured man, but he was pronounced dead about a half hour after the initial contact.
The prison reported finding no weapon in the cell and the death of Roman Ruiz, 33, is being probed by on-site investigators, and the prison system’s Office of the Inspector of General has also been alerted, the CDCR said.
Eddie Ruiz was convicted of murder in November 2018 — and incarcerated by CDCR a month later — in the July 28, 2016 shooting death of 37-year-old David Moglen near South First and Willow streets, north of Keyes Street.
According to a San Jose police investigation, Moglen was sitting with a woman in his car parked on Willow Street about a block west of South First Street, when a man now known to be Eddie Ruiz walked up and opened the driver door, then demanded Moglen’s wallet.
Moglen initially complied, but the two men got into a physical struggle, followed by Moglen chasing the intruder on foot. A fleeing Eddie Ruiz, detectives reported, pulled out a handgun and shot Moglen in the chest before running away on Willow Street.
About a month after the shooting, police publicly released surveillance video and images of the shooter, and tipsters suggested Eddie Ruiz as a potential culprit. That resulted in the woman in the car with Moglen and a second witness identifying Eddie Ruiz from a photo lineup that included his image.
Moglen was remembered fondly by faculty and administrators at both Evergreen Valley College and Foothill College, where he taught economics for 12 years. He was teaching a summer school course at Foothill when he died, and had recently produced a rap and hip-hop album under the moniker Ravin Odin.
Roman Ruiz’s official cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Lassen County coroner’s office. He was incarcerated in late 2015 after being convicted of attempted murder in San Joaquin County.