Herminio Serna
Herminio "Spankio" Serna, 53, died at San Quentin State Prison on December 3, 2018, where he was held on death row. The prison's corrections department said he was found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead about 8:35 p.m., and a prison spokesman said the cause was unknown pending an autopsy. Corrections officials said they were investigating how drugs reached death row. Later, the Marin County Sheriff's Office coroner's division reported that he died of acute and prescription drug intoxication, listing chronic substance abuse as a significant contributing condition, though full findings had not been released.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose. The Marin County coroner's office said he died of acute and prescription drug intoxication, with chronic substance abuse as a significant contributing condition, while prison officials had not determined the cause.
Reported by: Marin County Sheriff's Office coroner's division (Roger Fielding, chief deputy coroner) (medical examiner or coroner).