A 50-year-old inmate died Saturday night at the downtown San Diego Central Jail, a day after he had been arrested and booked into custody by San Diego police officers, sheriff’s officials announced Sunday.
Read more San Diego sheriff’s dog recovering after being stabbed in face during Escondido arrest
The man, whose name was not released, is at least the seventh person to die this year in the custody of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. The office did not release any details about his suspected cause of death.
The man was inside a cell with another individual when he was found unresponsive a little after 7 p.m. Saturday during a deputy’s routine security check, according to a statement from sheriff’s acting homicide Lt. Marcello Orsini.
The deputy requested assistance from jail medical staff, called 911 and began life-saving measures, Orsini said. Paramedics and firefighters from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department later took over those resuscitation efforts, but the man was pronounced dead just after 7:30 p.m.
The sheriff’s homicide unit is investigating, as it does for all in-custody deaths, while the county Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death. Orsini said the Sheriff’s Office notified the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, per protocol, and assigned a family liaison officer to support the man’s family.
Read more Head-on crash in East County leaves one dead, one injured
San Diego police officers had arrested the man Friday, Orsini said. He was facing several drug-related charges, including a charge of bringing drugs into a jail facility, but Orsini said that was an older charge unrelated to his Friday arrest and booking.
The man’s death came four days after Sheriff Kelly Martinez appeared before the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to promote the reforms she has made in the county jail system since she was sworn in a little more than three years ago. Her presentation included a summary of new practices across the detention services bureau that have helped reduce the number of people who have died in custody.
A total of 37 people died in 2021 and 2022 in San Diego County jails during the last two full years before Martinez was sworn in. There were 13 in-custody deaths in 2023, nine in 2024 and 10 in 2025.
Read more Fire in Vista park prompts evacuations
