Two San Diego County Prisoners Accused of Killing Fellow Inmate in NorCal

Two men incarcerated for San Diego County offenses are accused of attacking and killing a fellow inmate at a Northern California prison, state prison officials announced this week.

John Patch, 30, and Zachary Harris, 36, are accused of killing 49-year-old Scott Cook last Friday at High Desert State Prison in Susanville.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Cook suffered multiple stab wounds and that “two inmate-manufactured weapons” were found at the scene of the alleged attack.

Patch was convicted in 2022 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison for fatally striking a man with a wrench outside a 7-Eleven store in the Rolando neighborhood. Harris was sentenced in 2021 to over 24 years for attempted murder and other offenses.

Patch and Harris have since been moved to restricted housing while Cook’s death is investigated, CDCR said.

At the time of his death, Cook was serving a life without parole sentence for a first-degree murder conviction out of San Bernardino County.

City News Service contributed to this article.