Prison death of man involved in fatal La Jolla drive-by being investigated as homicide

One of two men sentenced to prison for a La Jolla house party drive-by shooting that killed a young woman has died while behind bars, state prison officials said Thursday.

Malik Joshua Campbell, 26, was found unresponsive inside his cell Tuesday afternoon at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, officials with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

He was transported to the prison’s triage and treatment area, where he was pronounced dead just after 5 p.m., about a half-hour after prison staff found him in his cell.

Campbell’s cellmate, Donte Walker, was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation, according to CDCR, which stated that no weapon was recovered from the scene. Officials said they are investigating the death as a homicide.

Campbell pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges for the June 23, 2019, shooting death of Nina Silver, 20, who was shot while standing in an alley in the 7500 block of Cuvier Street.

Campbell was sentenced last year to 24 years in state prison. His co-defendant, Odyssey Sellers Carrillo, identified by prosecutors as shooter, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, voluntary manslaughter and other charges, received a 35-year sentence.

Prosecutors allege gang motivations were behind the 12:30 a.m. shooting and that Silver was not the intended target. Silver was shot in the back, while three men were wounded.

Campbell had been imprisoned since October of last year.

Walker, 29, has been serving a four-year sentence for second-degree robbery in Sacramento County and eight months for conspiracy to commit a crime in Placer County.