The death of a 25-year-old inmate at California's North Kern State Prison is being investigated as a homicide, corrections officials said Tuesday.

An officer conducting a security check discovered Ricardo Saldivar unresponsive in a cell Monday afternoon, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

Saldivar was taken to the prison's medical treatment area, where he was pronounced dead, the statement said. The Kern County Coroner will determine the official cause of death.

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The cell where Saldivar was found was also occupied by a 47-year-old inmate, officials said.

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The death will be investigated by the prison's investigative services unit along with the county district attorney's office.

Saldivar arrived at North Kern State last month after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.

The prison in Delano, just north of Bakersfield, is a medium security facility housing about 3,500 inmates.