Man sentenced for 2020 murder of Long Beach special ed teacher dies at Men’s Central Jail

A man just sentenced to prison for the murder of a Long Beach special education teacher was found dead in jail of a possible drug overdose, law enforcement officials confirmed to NBC4 Investigates.

Enrique Hernandez, 29, died April 4, days after he was sentenced to 179 years and 8 months for attempting to carjack, then killing, teacher Jaime Perez in 2020.

Perez, 55, was shot to death after following two masked men who approached him as he entered his Nissan SUV and fired shots as he drove away, Long Beach Police said.

Perez turned to follow the men and crashed into their car near Magnolia Avenue and Wardlaw Road, where the men fired into Perez’s car before running from the area.

Long Beach Police detectives arrested Hernandez several weeks later.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office said Hernandez was convicted in November 2025 of first-degree murder, multiple counts of carjacking, and being a felon with a firearm. He was sentenced on April 1 and was awaiting transfer to state prison when he died.

The Long Beach Police Department declined to comment on the death, but told NBC4 Investigates detectives had identified the second masked attacker involved in the Perez murder.

“Upon identifying this individual, detectives learned he was deceased,” a police spokesperson said.

Perez’s family said in 2020 he was nearing retirement when he was murdered.

“Jaime was a great husband, father, and was beloved by all that knew him,” family members wrote in a GoFundMe campaign posted just after his death.

“Jaime always had a passion for teaching and worked endlessly to do so; he worked as a special education teacher for Compton Unified School District…anyone who has had the good fortune of having had their lives touched by Jamie is better for it,” the post said.

The LA County Department of Medical Examiner’s case entry for Hernandez showed he died inside a cell at Men’s Central Jail in Downtown L.A., and said the cause of death was deferred, meaning more lab tests were needed to determine the cause.

Jail records show Hernandez was the 13th inmate to die while in LA County Sheriff’s Department custody this year (the 14th died at a hospital while in custody April 10).