A 56-year-old inmate was stricken by an apparent medical crisis in a holding cell at Vista Detention Facility Thursday and died of unknown causes a short time later.
Other inmates in the cell notified guards to the emergency at the jail in the 300 block of South Melrose Drive about 8:45 a.m.
“Deputies looked inside the cell and saw an inmate in apparent medical distress,” sheriff’s homicide Lt. Michael Blevins said. “The man did not appear injured, but soon after the deputies entered the cell to help (him), he became unresponsive.”
Medics took the inmate to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The name of the man, who was in custody on drug and parole-violation charges, was withheld pending family notification.
Homicide detectives were called in to investigate the fatality, which is standard protocol in cases involving in-custody deaths.
“Our response is not an indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances,” Blevins noted.
–City News Service