A man who fatally beat a fellow inmate at the San Diego Central Jail was sentenced Thursday to 15 years to life in state prison. John Roman Medina, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the Dec. 29, 2021, slaying of 38-year-old Dominique McCoy. Medina turned 18 years old less than two weeks prior to McCoy’s death and was in jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and felony animal abuse at the time. The killing prompted wrongful-death lawsuits against the county from McCoy’s family, who alleged he had been jailed on a wrongfully issued warrant. According to their complaints, McCoy was arrested for a probation violation, though his probation had been terminated nearly two months prior. Despite the erroneous warrant, McCoy was arrested on Dec. 23, 2021, and remained behind bars for nearly a week before a judge ruled that the arrest was made in error and ordered his release, the lawsuits state. Just before McCoy’s expected release, Medina was placed in McCoy’s cell, and Medina killed him. The family alleges Medina’s violent charges meant he should not have been placed with an inmate like McCoy, who did not have a history of violent offenses and whose probation case stemmed from a misdemeanor offense. The civil cases remain pending. Medina’s guilty plea included an agreement to the 15-year-to-life prison term. His attorney, Peter Blair, said his client suffered from mental health issues that should have been addressed and that Medina likely should have been housed somewhere that provided more adequate treatment for those issues than a county jail. Blair called what happened “a horrible tragedy” and said it was “a crime that I think maybe could have been prevented if we knew more and there was more help being provided.” Medina did not make a statement at his sentencing hearing, but Blair assured McCoy’s family in attendance that his client “is very remorseful” and said his remorse “is very genuine and very deep.”