A prisoner with an extensive criminal history has been sentenced to serve an additional 25 years to life behind bars.
Stephen Williams committed his recent crime while in prison and is currently serving a life sentence for prior convictions. Yesterday’s sentence follows a jury verdict delivered on July 24, 2025, in which Williams, age 52, was found guilty of one count of possession of a controlled substance in prison. The Jury also found that Williams had suffered eight prior convictions for Attempted Murder, two counts of Second Degree Murder, Robbery, Kidnap for a Sex Crime, Sodomy, Rape and Oral Copulation. The case was prosecuted by Deputy DA Peter Zerbib.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on December 13, 2024 at Kern Valley State Prison. Officers in the visiting center observed Williams receiving a small bindle from an approved visitor. Officers took Williams to a secure processing room to conduct a search. During the search, Williams handed over a latex bindle that was hidden within his back brace. The bindle was processed and sent to the Kern Regional Crime Laboratory for further analysis. Laboratory testing confirmed multiple bindles with a confirmed bindle of illegal narcotics.
Williams was admitted into prison in 1995, for two counts of murder, rape, and other associated charges out of San Mateo County. At least one of the murders occurred over a dispute about rock cocaine. On February 13, 1992, Williams sold cocaine to a male victim. After the male victim requested larger cocaine rocks, Williams pulled a gun and shot him. He then proceeded to rape a female victim that was with the now deceased male.
DA Zimmer commented; “Preventing illegal narcotics in prison is important as a significant portion of violence in prison is due to conflicts between inmates over illegal contraband. Being an inmate does not exempt anyone from accountability and all offenses will be prosecuted under the law."