Aryan Brotherhood Hitman On San Quentin Death Row Dies In Prison Of Natural Causes

SAN QUENTIN (CBS SF/AP) -- A convicted killer and reputed hitman for the Aryan Brotherhood on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison for 35 years has died of natural causes, correction officials said.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said 74-year-old Curtis Price died early Tuesday morning at the prison. The exact cause of death was to be determined by the Marin County Coroner's Office.

Price was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and first-degree burglary in Humboldt County for the 1983 killing of Richard Barnes and Elizabeth Ann Hickey.

Prosecutors said Barnes was shot in Los Angeles County because he was the father of Steven Barnes, another Aryan Brotherhood member who had testified against other gang members but was in protective custody.

Hickey was beaten to death at a Humboldt County home from which guns had been stolen and who knew of Price's involvement in the Barnes killing, authorities said.

Price also was convicted of the armed robbery of a movie theater in Humboldt County the same day that Hickey's body was discovered.

Last month, another condemned inmate died of natural causes at age 68. Donald R. Millwee was sentenced to death in Riverside County in 1990 for the fatal shooting of his physically disabled mother. He had been housed at a state prison in Corcoran, midway between Bakersfield and Fresno.

There are currently 698 people on California's death row. The state's last execution was in 2006. Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a moratorium on executions in 2019.

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.