Illegal immigrant found dead in NJ federal prison

FAIRFIELD (Cumberland) — A man serving time for entering the United States illegally in 2013 was found dead in a New Jersey prison.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons told the Daily Journal that Salomon Hernandez-Vega, 38, was pronounced dead in his cell on Thursday night after an "apparent altercation." The incident did not threaten the public's safety, according to the agency, and no staff or other inmates were injured in the incident.

Hernandez-Vega had been at the Cumberland County facility since November and was serving a 77-month sentence. He pleaded guilty to re-entering the United States after being deported in 2006.

Fairton is a medium-security federal correctional institution with an adjacent, minimum-security satellite camp, and a detention center which houses 1,076 men.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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