San Quentin inmate identified after death of cellmate

Mysterious San Quentin death prompts questions from family

Dianna Coleman's brother died at San Quentin more than three months ago, but no one from the prison has told her anything official about how he died, and she fears he was possibly beaten to death by his cellmate.

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - A man incarcerated at San Quentin has been identified in connection with the death of his cellmate.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said they are recommending charges be filed against Joshua Jones, 50, following the homicide of James Healy, 43, who was killed on April 24.

On Tuesday, the Marin County District Attorney said no charges have been filed, and the case is "under review."

Prison officials announced the development less than two weeks after KTVU published a story saying Healy's family had not been given hardly any details about his death.

Healy's family hired a lawyer, David Fiol, who filed a claim to release that information.

According to prison officials, correctional officers were conducting security rounds about 9:40 p.m. when they found Healy "unresponsive" in his cell, suffering from a head injury. They did not elaborate on the injury or what was used to cause the injury.

Healy was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m.

Healy had been incarcerated at San Quentin since 2023, after being sentenced to nearly three years for buying or receiving a stolen vehicle, trailer or construction equipment as a second-strike offense, the CDCR said.

Jones came to San Quentin in 1998.

He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder – both with firearm enhancements.

In 2016, while he was incarcerated, Jones was sentenced to nine years for assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and in 2021, was sentenced to three years for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the CDCR.

Both were from Sacramento County.

It's unclear why the two were housed together.

In an interview last month with Healy's sister, Dianna Coleman, indicated that her brother had left his gang, and she believed his cellmate had stayed.

"And so they basically put two different people from different sides in the same cell," she said.

Jones has been placed in restricted housing as the investigation into Healy’s death continues.