An aspiring rapper was fatally stabbed in the showers at a California prison on Tuesday, authorities and his attorney said.
Jaime Brugada Valdez, 22, also known by his stage name MoneySign Suede, was stabbed before 10 p.m. in the showers at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California.
CDCR officials said Valdez was not in his cell during an inmate count around 9 PM. Guards found him in the shower suffering from stab wounds.
Valdez was pronounced dead at the prison’s medical facility on Tuesday.
“They said it was a stabbing to the neck,” Valdez’s attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg, told the Los Angeles Times.
Valdez was serving a 32-month sentence on gun charges, according to state corrections officials.
Rosenberg said Valdez was attacked in prison prior to his murder. He questioned why Valdez was not housed in the prison’s sensitive-needs section.
CDCR officials said they restricted the movements of 4,000 minimum and medium-security inmates as the investigation into Valdez’s death continues.
Valdez was a gang member with a lengthy criminal history when he signed to Atlantic Records. He released his most recent album Parkside Baby last September.
He is best known for his regional hit song “Back to the Bag” (2020).
Fans flocked to his Instagram page to leave their condolences.
“People are very shocked,” said Rosenberg. “He was a very popular guy, very mild-mannered. People loved him.”
