A look at the people who have died at Santa Rita Jail

DUBLIN, Calif. - Santa Rita Jail based in Dublin, Calif., has the highest number of in-custody deaths in the Bay Area, and has an even higher jail death rate than Los Angeles County, which has the largest jail system in the country.

In 2019, KTVU took an unprecedented look at who was dying and why at the jail by reviewing dozens of autopsies, police reports, lawsuits and conducting interviews. The analysis concluded that a disproportionally high number of people were put into isolation and then dying by suicide. The conclusion was that putting mentally fragile people into solitary confinement often led to deadly results. More recently, a large portion of the in-custody deaths are a result of medical inattention and drug overdose. 

A federal consent decree over the jail in February 2022 mandated many changes at the jail regarding how mental illness is treated and how much time a person is allowed out of their cell. The results of this consent decree remain to be seen. 

KTVU continues to track every death at Santa Rita: 71 people have died there since 2014. (This list was last updated on Sept. 19, 2024) 

Below are the stories behind many of these deaths. 

Santa Rita has a higher jail death rate than Los Angeles 

Here is a look at the people who died:

2014: 10 DEATHS

Name: Lawrence Edward Baslee Jr.
Age: 56
Arrested: 1/23/2014. Baslee had 18 criminal cases in Alameda County ranging from second degree burglary of a vehicle and possession of a firearm in 2014 to driving while his privilege was suspended in 2009. 
Date of death: 2/12/2014
Total time in jail: 20 days
Occupation: Gas station attendant/homeless
Race: White
Cause of death: Natural. Massive esophageal variceal hemorrhage and micronodular cirrhosis. No foul play. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Tim Engel
Isolation: Placed in "administrative segregation" on his first day of arrest. He remained there until he was taken to the hospital on Feb. 11.
Health and/or medical issues: History redacted. 
Drug issues: None detected. Naxopren in system, used to relieve muscle aches.
Restraints: No
Narrative: The day before he died, Baslee was taken from Santa Rita to Valley Care in Pleasanton after he was vomiting blood and had dark stools. Blood started pouring out of his mouth and nose at the hospital and he died there. No news stories. No lawsuit. 

Name: Yanet Diaz
Age: 33
Arrested: 2/10/2014. Disobeying domestic violence order, resisting arrest, all dismissed after her death. 
Date of death: 2/27/2014
Total time in jail: 17 days
Occupation: Housekeeper
Race: Mexican
Cause of death: Suicide. Asphyxia by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Rebecca Lorenzana
Isolation: Classified as "mental health inmate" and  housed in a behavioral health unit. Although her history did not "include suicidal ideations, she was witnessed to be physically distraught after hearing she would not be released from jail only minutes before she was found hanging in the cell where she was being kept alone." 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. 
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: None listed 
Narrative: Diaz had wrapped a telephone cord around her neck at a courthouse in Fremont on Feb. 21, 2014. She was upset that she was not going to be released from jail. She was taken to Washington Hospital in Fremont and placed on life support. She was declared brain dead. She was married and her family was by her side at the hospital when she died. No known news reports. No known lawsuits. 

Name: Robert D. Moore Jr. 
Age: 30
Arrested:  Date and reason not listed. 
Date of death: 3/14/2014
Total time in jail: Unclear
Occupation: None listed
Race: Black
Cause of death: Accident. Acute mixed drug intoxication (methadone, hydrocodone, diphenhydramine, sertaline.) 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Adam Williams
Isolation: None listed
Health and/or mental issues: Seizure disorder with subtherapeutic levels of diazepam. He had a five-year history of an issue that was redacted. And he had been prescribed some type of medication (redacted) by his dentist. Mental health issues possible but redacted. 
Drug issues: Yes. Father said Moore had used drugs in the past and had been living in a half-way house.
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: Moore was discovered unresponsive inside a holding cell at Wiley Manual Court House. Staff at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland said they could not find any signs of trauma and there was no evidence of foul play. Deputies said when they left him in the cell he was sleeping on the bench and appeared to be in good health. Deputies said they had checked on him three times. Moore had a child and he lived with his mother. His father was authorized to make his funeral arrangements. No known news reports or lawsuits. 

Name: Kevin Mark Hurd
Age: 41
Arrested: 3/23/2014. He has eight criminal cases in Alameda County, ranging from felony corporal injury to a partner in 2005 to possession of ammunition and being under the influence in March 2014. 
Date of death: 3/26/2014
Total time in jail: Three days
Occupation: None listed
Race: White
Cause of death:  Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Solomon Unubun
Isolation: He was classified as administrative segregation inmate and was assigned to a "single occupant cell."
Health and/or mental issues: None listed
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: He was found hanging by a noose from his bed sheet. "No known prior suicide attempts or ideations. No note of intent was found in the cell."  He had some family, including his eldest child who had filed a restraining order against him. 

Name: Edward Laron Wilhite
Age: 40
Arrested: 4/20/2014 but booked on 4/21/2014. He has 10 criminal cases in Alameda County stemming from possession of a controlled substance in 1994 to sale of a controlled substance in 2011. 
Date of death: 4/22/2014
Total time in jail: One day
Occupation: Homeless
Race: Black
Cause of death:  Accident. Acute cocaine toxicity. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Charles Frazier
Isolation: Yes. Although he was supposed to be placed in the multi-housing unit 33. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but it was redacted. And it was unknown at the time of his distress. A brother later told deputies Wilhite’s health was "terrible."  Deputy asked family if he had suffered head trauma. Wilhite took medication, but "not all the time like he should have," his ex-wife said. 
Drug issues: His brother told deputies Wilhite "constantly used illicit drugs." 
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: A deputy saw Wilhite in the isolation cell in Housing Unit 33 at 5:30 a.m. and saw him sitting on the cell bench with his knees propped up. But he did not seem to be exhibiting any withdrawal symptoms. The deputy said, "Are you OK?" and Whilhite said, "I’m good." Another deputy asked why he was in the isolation cell and the answer was that Wilhite asked to go to the isolation cell so that he could use the restroom. When the deputy went to retrieve him after using the toilet, he came back and found Wilhite unresponsive. He died at Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton. Deputies found an ex-wife who said he had no real contact with family. He had two daughters. 

Name: Duoc Van Chau
Age: 38 
Arrested: 4/9/2014. Multiple counts of oral copulation of a person younger than 14 and forcible rape.
Date of death: 6/3/2014
Total time in jail: 59 days (unclear how long in isolation) 
Occupation: None listed
Race: Vietnamese
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Alexander Valentine
Isolation: Yes, administrative segregation. Housing unit 8. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. 
Drug issues: None
Restraints: None listed 
Narrative:  Chau was transferred to Glenn E. Dyer from Santa Rita at noon and was being held in intake transfer and release while awaiting a housing assignment. About 2.5 hours later, he was found in a holding cell hanging by a county-issued T-shirt. He was an administrative segregation inmate and was in cell F by himself. He had no disciplinary history. 

Name: Bryan Todd Streicher 
Age: 45
Arrested: 6/18/2014. Forgery
Date of death: 6/23/2014
Total time in jail: Five days
Occupation: Not listed
Race: White
Cause of death: Natural. Cardiac failure. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/ Mandy Monaghan
Isolation: No. He was housed in unit 35 as a minimum security inmate. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, according to redacted Corizon records. Deputies noted he was obese. 
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: Housing unit 35 as a minimum security inmate. The unit has multiple bunk beds. He was lying on a top bunk when he became unresponsive.
He was on a top bunk gasping for air. Paramedic arrived. He became pulseless. His family alleges in a lawsuit that he had made several requests for a CPAP machine for his apnea and never received one. The case was dismissed.He was divorced and had an 8-year-old daughter. The ex-wife hung up the phone when deputies called. 

Name: Roscil Rodgers
Age: 32
Arrested: 9/9/2014. Rodgers has  11 criminal cases in Alameda County, ranging from possession of a controlled substance to violation of parole.
Date of death: 10/24/2014
Total time in jail: 45 days
Occupation: Landscaper
Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural. Bilateral pulmonary emboli. His liver and lungs were congested. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Erik Bordi
Isolation: Not listed
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. 
Drug issues: None listed. But the coroner’s report lists needle marks on arm.
Restraints: No
Narrative: The narrative is very sparse. He had some sort of medical condition and ended up being taken to Valley Care Hospital in Pleasanton where he died. He was having trouble breathing and speaking. He had a mother and sisters. 

Name: Eric Steven Bueno
Age: 46
Arrested: 12/03/2014. Bueno has 11 criminal cases in Alameda County ranging from grand theft in 2008 to first degree burglary in 2012 revocation of parole, his last recorded offense.
Date of death: 12/6/2014
Total time in jail: Three days
Occupation: Unknown
Race: White
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Rafael Plasencia
Isolation: No. Housing unit 7, cell B 1 
Health and/or mental issues: None, according to Corizon medical records
Drug issues: He had methamphetamine in his system
Restraints: No
Narrative: Bueno was found hanging in his cell by his bed sheets. He had written a two-page suicide note left on his cell desk listing family members to contact. Some of his narrative is redacted, including what he said in his note. 

Name: Lawrence James Monroe 
Age: 28
Arrested: 12/9/2014 
Date of death: 12/10/2014
Total time in jail: One day
Occupation: Student
Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural. Chronic alcoholism
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Charles Frazier
Isolation: No. A-pod, cell 39
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted.
Drug issues: Alcoholism
Restraints: No
Narrative: Earlier that day, Monroe had been checked on during morning pill call and he was about to get ready for his court appearance. When he was arrested, he had been intoxicated and had a black eye. When deputies called him to get up, he was unresponsive. His parents were notified. He also had a daughter. 

2015: 8 DEATHS

Name: Gary Clee Oldham
Age: 37
Arrested:  2/17/2015. Battery, criminal threats and child abuse. His parole was also revoked on 2/19/2015
Date of death: 3/3/2015
Total time in jail: Two weeks
Occupation: Warehouse worker
Race: Puerto Rican
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging. Anoxic encephalopathy
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Tim Engel
Isolation: Sort of. Santa Rita outpatient housing unit, cell 1. These outpatient cells only hold one inmate and inmates are held in their cells 24 hours a day because there is no day room or yard attached to this unit. The sheriff’s policy is that deputies transport inmates to programs, however, lawyers in a federal civil rights lawsuit contend they have never seen any evidence of that. 
Health and/or mental issues: It appears as though he might have had a head injury. Other details redacted. 
Drug issues: None listed
Narrative: Oldham had been placed in the outpatient unit and given a mattress on the floor "for safety." "Neurochecks were consistently made" throughout the shift. Oldham reported he was feeling fine. On Feb. 21, he hung himself. He was rushed to Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton, where he later died. Oakland North reported that Oldham's family sued the sheriff alleging that there were inadequate welfare, which attorney Timothy Murphy denied on behalf of the jail. 

Name: John Anthony Cornejo
Age: 20
Arrested: 3/29/2015. Reason redacted. No criminal cases found in Alameda County Superior Court online records search. 
Date of death: 3/30/2015
Total time in jail: One day
Occupation: Construction worker
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Accident. Acute methamphetamine intoxication
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Charles Frazier
Isolation: No. He was placed in holding cell H.
Health and/or mental issues: Congestion and edema of lungs, spleen and kidneys. 
Drug issues: Yes
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: He was arrested on a Sunday morning and CHP officers took him to the now-closed Glenn Dyer Jail in Oakland where he began "behaving strangely." He was sweating and looked like he was having a seizure. Deputies believe he may have ingested some drugs, though he denied that. He had a seizure and tested positive for meth. He has a mother and sister. 

Name: Michael Anthony Brown
Age: 28
Arrested: 4/4/2015. 
Date of death: 4/8/2015
Total time in jail: Four days
Occupation: Not listed
Race: Black
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Stephanie Beezley
Isolation: Yes. Housing Unit 2, D-13.
Health and/or issues: Possible, redacted.
Drug issues: Not listed
Restraints: Not listed
Narrative: Brown was an administrative segregation inmate and was "in the cell by himself." There was no explanation for why. That day, he had been placed in the "quasi yard" with handcuffs and waist chains in place. He was escorted back to D-pod. Later, he was found  hanging from his bunk as lunch was being passed out to the others. He had covered his window with cardboard. He had a mother and sister.

Name: Frank Alexander Beltram Jr. 
Age: 49
Arrested:  Federal drug possession. In 2004, Beltram was arrested with his wife were arrested in Fremont, where more than $20,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana were recovered, according to the East Bay Times. 
Date of death: 5/9/2015
Total time in jail: Not listed.
Occupation: Refinery worker
Race: Native American, per family
Cause of death: Natural. Cardiac insufficiency
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Rafael Plasencia
Isolation:  Not listed
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. He did not have any evidence of psychiatric disorders and "was not interested in any psychiatric treatment." 
Drug issues: None
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: He was divorced and had two sons, along with mother and uncle. He died at Valley Care Medical Center. His obituary said that Beltram Jr. was born in Martinez and graduated from Pitt High in 1984. The obituary said he played football and baseball and loved the Giants and the Raiders. The obituary made no mention of Beltram in jail and said he died of a lengthy lung disease. His brother, Harry Beltram, saw the KTVU story said he and his mother have many questions about how Beltram died. According to them, Beltram called his mother a few days before his death to say he wasn't feeling well and couldn't breathe. He begged her to call the jail to demand he be sent to the hospital, his brother said. Eventually, he did go to the hospital, where he died, but his family had no idea he was taken there. A report said Beltram refused medical treatment, but his brother asked: "Why would he do that after pleading with my mom over the phone that he needed to be in the hospital?" 

He said his family tried to retain a lawyer, but no one would take the case because the "jail report was full of inconsistencies." 

Name: Christopher Luis Daniel Angulo
Age: 34
Arrested: Records show Angulo had one criminal case with four felony charges of corporal injury to a partner, assault with a deadly weapon, willful cruelty to a child and making criminal threats from 9/04/2014. 
Date of death: 6/19/2015
Total time in jail: Unclear
Occupation: Screen writer
Race: White
Cause of death: Suicide. Shock and hemorrhage from slitting his right arm
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Jason Henshaw
Isolation: Yes. He was held in Housing Unit 8, Cell F16, a "single occupant cell for protective custody inmates." 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. 
Drug issues: No drugs found in his system.
Restraints: No
Narrative: There was some type of note on his cell bunk. The contents were redacted. His cell was very neat and clean. Deputies said they had done security checks through his cell window, but "since he was lying on his bed, wrapped in a blanket, it appeared he was sleeping." He had a father and children.

Name: Mario Michael Martinez
Age: 29
Arrested: 
Date of death: 7/15/2015
Total time in jail: Not listed
Occupation: Not listed
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Natural. Acute asthmatic respiratory insufficiency
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Stephanie Beezley
Isolation: Sort of. He had been in cell C-8 and moved into an isolation cell in the back hall of Housing Unit 6 during some sort of investigation. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. 2 Investigates prior reporting shows he had a nasal polyp blocking his airway. A doctor at the jail had repeatedly urged him for surgery, which was delayed by jail superiors. The dentist had given him some medications right before his asthma attack. 
Drug issues: Unclear. There was a pill found in his cell for which he did not have a prescription.
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: Martinez had been at the dentist and was out for recreation time in C-pod when someone noticed he wasn’t breathing. Martinez said he didn’t want help at first, but then went to the nurse where he used his inhaler. He was allowed to go to the yard to get some air. He still couldn’t breathe and he died. His mother told her son’s story to 2 Investigates, questioning whether the medical care her son received was adequate.  

Name: Marquis "Leilani" Nathaniel Jackson
Age: 33
Arrested:  9/28/2015 Jackson has 14 criminal cases in the system ranging from possession of a controlled substance to a transient failing to register to revocation of parole, the last arrest. 
Date of death:  10/2/2015
Total time in jail: Four days
Occupation: Cashier
Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural. Complications of chronic seizure disorder
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Rebecca Lorenzana
Isolation: Yes, administrative segregation called Housing Unit 8. Reason not stated, but Jackson was a transgender female who went by Leilani. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but some details were redacted. A CT scan was performed on Jackson, but the diagnosis was redacted. Jackson had epilepsy and pst chronic infectious diseases. Nerve pain medication and an antipsychotic, Quetiapine, was found in Jackson’s system. Jackson also had cardiac hypertrophy, pulmonary edema, enlarged liver and spleen and early pneumonia. 
Drug issues: None found in system.
Restraints: None listed. 
Narrative: Jackson "refused" to take medication during morning pill call and was found unresponsive during afternoon pill call. She is survived by her mother. 

Name: John Jeffrey Bonardi
Age: 48
Arrested: 11/28/2015.  Bonardi has 16 criminal cases in Alameda County ranging from receiving stolen property to his last arrest of identity theft and fraudulent possession of personal information. 
Date of death: 12/10/2015
Total time in jail: 12 days
Occupation: Supervisor
Race: Black
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Jason Henshaw
Isolation: Yes and no. Housing Unit 23, minimum security/protective custody. He was the sole occupant of cell A34. The reason why he was in protective custody was redacted. 
Health and/or mental issues: None listed
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: Bonardi was the only person in protective custody who hung himself from the top bunk. He had a sister, two adult children and a step-daughter.

2016: 6 DEATHS

Name: Melvin Stubbs Jr. 
Age: 65
Arrested: 3/5/2016. He was wrongly arrested by Oakland police on suspicion of killing his wife, who was later determined to have died of natural causes. 
Date of death: 3/6/2016
Total time in jail: One day
Occupation: Body frame technician
Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural. Cardiac failure.
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/ Karen Easling
Isolation: Sort of. Outpatient Housing Unit inmates have single cells where they are held inside 24 hours a day because there is no day room or yard unit. He was alone in OPHU, cell 13 and was the only inmate assigned to the cell. The sheriff’s policy is that deputies transport inmates to programs, however, lawyers in a federal civil rights lawsuit contend they have never seen any evidence of that. 
Health and/or mental  issues: From notes, it appears he had diabetes and had a prosthesis and used a wheelchair. Corizon nurses determined he was not suicidal and had no diagnosed mental illness. 
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: No
Narrative: Stubbs was initially not let into Santa Rita because he had dangerously low blood sugar and diabetes. He was cleared at the hospital to return to jail. He had been arrested the day before after his wife, Terry Cameron, 58, was found dead in the 10400 block of Foothill Boulevard. The apartment was in disarray and Stubbs had scratch marks on his hands and was arrested. An autopsy later concluded that his wife died of acute bacterial meningitis. Family told the East Bay Times it should have been obvious to anyone that Stubbs couldn’t have killed his wife, or anyone for that matter. 

Name: Balvir Singh 
Age: 44
Arrested: 5/25/2014. Arrested by Fremont police for a reason, which was redacted. He had last attended court on June 3, 2016. 
Date of death: 7/15/2016
Total time in jail: Two years and 2 months. 
Occupation: Not listed
Race: East Indian
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging/asphyxiation
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Matthew Medldrum
Isolation: Sort of. At the time of his death, he was in Housing Unit 9, a behavioral health unit. Cell B-9. He had been been housed with a cell mate, but that person had been released on the day Singh killed himself, hanging himself with a bed sheet. This is considered a "special handling house." Typically inmates assigned to this unit are prescribed medication because of mental disorders. B Pod could have up to 28 inmates, and two inmates are typically assigned to one cell. Deputies are supposed to check inmates every 30 minutes in this unit. However, Singh had also been placed in a "safety cell" at some point (the date and duration aren’t listed) because he told authorities he wanted to hang himself so "he wouldn’t have to continue with the court process." He was placed in the safety cell to prevent any attempts to harm himself. He was transferred to Napa State Hospital from Nov. 6, 2015 and returned on Feb. 1, 2016, 
Health and/or mental  issues: Yes, he was classified as a mental health inmate. He also has pulmonary and organ congestion. Small amount of Mirtazapine was in his blood stream.  
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: No
Narrative: Singh was found unresponsive by an inmate at the end of "pod time." He had hung himself with a sheet. He also had a contusion on his forehead and a laceration on his nose. He killed himself while his cell mate was out on "pod time." Deputies noted that he hadn’t taken his medication that day, although he had taken it every day since July 1. A note in Punjabi was left in his cell. There was another letter, dated four days before his death, written to his father and brother in India. He wished his family well and said he had tried unsuccessfully to call them. His mother was tracked down in a village in India. He had a yoga book in his cell. An inmate hadn’t seen anything wrong with Singh and thought he "looked happy." 

Name: Erik John Sigl 
Age: 26
Arrested:  Not listed in online court records
Date of death: 7/27/2016
Total time in jail: Unclear
Occupation: Laborer
Race: White
Cause of death: Natural. Intracerebral hemorrhage and tumor
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Rebecca Lorenzana
Isolation: No. Housing Unit 9, Cell F-11. He had a cell mate. 
Health and/or mental  issues: Cancer. His court case is still listed as ‘active," and he was supposed to have a mental competency hearing on 7/25/2016, two days before he died. 
Drug issues: No
Restraints: No
Narrative: He a seizure and brain bleed, possibly because of his cancer, and he died at John Muir Medical Center. He was divorced and had no children. He had a father. 

Name: Dat Thanh Luong
Age: 56
Arrested: 1/26/2016. Online records show he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He was arrested by Union City police.
Date of death: 10/11/2016
Total time in jail: About 10 months
Occupation:
Race: Vietnamese
Cause of death: Homicide. Strangulation. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Adam Neils
Isolation: No. Housing Unit 9. Cell B14
Health and/or mental issues: He was going to be sent to Napa State Hospital for mental health treatment, according to a wrongful death suit filed by his attorneys, Michael Haddad and Julia Sherwin. He suffered from schizophrenia. 
Drug issues: No
Restraints: No
Narrative:  According to his lawsuit, he had refused to take his medicine and he felt that he was being poisoned, due to his mental illness. He also refused to eat or drink, and the suit alleges no one in jail was supervising his mental and physical health. He got into fights with several inmates at least four different times before his beating death. Judge Dan Grimmer ordered him in July 2016 to be mentally incompetent and said he must go to a state hospital.  Eighty one days passed and that transfer did not occur. On the day he was killed, Luong was assaulted in his two-man cell, which he shared with another inmate. There were blood stains on the concrete table, the wall and the floor. The report does not state who killed him. News reports stated his 73-year-old cellmate was charged with his death and spoke Farsi. 

Loung's wife, Ai Quiong Zhong, received $5.1 million from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office for failing to protect him. (The sheriff said it paid out $4.7 million.) Lawyers also sued Napa State Hospital for not accepting him in a timely manner. 

Name: Swaran Singh
Age: 41
Arrested: Records not found
Date of death: 10/12/2016
Total time in jail: Not listed
Occupation: Not listed
Race: "Other" 
Cause of death: Natural. Hypertensive cardiovascular disease
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Anthony Gogna
Isolation: Didn’t state
Health and/or mental  issues: Mood disorder, and other health problems were redacted. 
Drug issues: No
Restraints: No
Narrative: Singh collapsed at Santa Rita and was taken to Valley Care Medical Center in cardiac arrest. He was divorced and had a child. Other family lives overseas. Relatives came to pray together at the hospital after he died. 

Name: Barry Heisner Jr. 
Age: 44
Arrested: 10/18/2016, arrived on 10/19/2016. Fremont police arrested him on charges of attacking a 55-year-old woman while robbing her after she came out of a casino.  Online records show he was charged with attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon and second-degree burglary. 
Date of death: 10/30/2016
Total time in jail: 11 days
Occupation: None listed
Race: White
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Damon Wilson
Isolation: No. Housing Unit West 7, first in Pod C, Cell 5 and moved to Pod E, Cell 5. 
Health and/or mental  issues: Pulmonary and organ congestion. 
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: No
Narrative: Heisner had been awake for breakfast at 4:30 a.m., was OK at 7:30 a.m. during a check and was found hanging in his cell by an inmate at 8:37 a.m. He left a suicide note and numbers of people to call. He had an ex-wife, a child and parents. 

2017: 6 DEATHS

Name: Christina Angelina Lamendola
Age: 38
Arrested: Lamendola has 30 criminal cases in Alameda County, according to online records. The most recent was in violation of her community supervision. She had also been charged in 2016 with possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance and grand theft.
Date of death: 2/11/2017
Total time in jail: Not listed
Occupation: Homemaker 
Race: Latina
Cause of death: Accident. Cardiac arrest. Acute methamphetamine intoxication. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Anthony Gogna
Isolation:  Sort of. Outpatient Housing Unit. Cell 5 by herself. 
Health and/or mental  issues: "Long medical history," of congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. 
Drug issues: She had methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system.
Restraints: No
Narrative: She was talking to a doctor when she collapsed and died. Earlier, she said she felt short of breath "because of the air freshener in the police car." Deputies noted her breathing was not labored at the time. She took her morning medication. Her medical file was included in her case file. Several relatives said they hadn’t seen Lamendola in a while and they were estranged from her. 

Name: Nestor Zarsuela Aguilar
Age: 63
Arrested: 4/12/2017
Date of death: 4/29/2017
Total time in jail: 12 days (he left for the hospital on 4/24/2017) 
Occupation: Certified nursing assistant
Race: Filipino
Cause of death: Natural. Hypoxic encephalopathy, organ failure, cardiac arrest, acute pulmonary embolism. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Rebecca Lorenzana
Isolation: Yes. He was in the Outpatient Housing Unit but was also classified as "Administration Isolation." Deputies wrote "he was housed alone during his stay at the Santa Rita Jail. There was no possibility that he could have been assaulted by another inmate." 
Health and/or mental  issues: Hypertension, diabetes and schizoaffective disorder. Highland Hospital also noted he had injuries that "were questionable." CT scan revealed no intracranial trauma, however. He also had mental issues and other medical issues, which were redacted. He had stayed at John George Psychiatric facility before being taken to Santa Rita. Doctors said his condition was deteriorating and he needed to go back there. 
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: Yes. Deputies used a full body restraint called a WRAP to move him because he was "uncooperative by making his body limp and refused to walk on his own." On the van ride, deputies heard him coughing but Aguilar never said he was in medical distress, the deputies said. A doctor noted that a blood clot could move from the legs into the lungs, which could cause coughing. When they got to the hospital, Aguilar’s eyes were glazed and were half opened. He didn’t have a pulse at this time. The deputy said he saw "no evidence of obvious significant trauma" despite that the doctor at Highland reported trauma. He was also placed in a spit mask because deputies identified him as a "spitter" on two past occasions.
Narrative: Five days before his death, he was lethargic and had trouble breathing. He couldn’t eat or drink by himself. He had refused medication for two days. A doctor at noted he needed a higher level of care. The doctor noted she couldn’t it was difficult to evaluate him because her "assessments needed to be conducted through the cell door." Because he had spit on multiple deputies, his cell door could not be opened for her conversations with him. The doctor noted he didn’t have any medical concerns but he had been urinating on himself and was "dirty and odorous." The doctor asked the nurses to clean him up. The doctor then noticed how weak and dehydrated Aguilar was and decided that he needed to go to Highland Hospital on April 24, and then following that, he should be transferred to John George Psychiatric facility. A doctor at Highland noted that Aguilar had some trauma but the deputy wrote the trauma the doctor noticed at the hospital "was not related to his death and was most probably self-inflicted…" as there was documentation indicating he would bang his head. Aguilar died five days after arriving at the hospital. 

Name: Antonio Rodriguez
Age: 27
Arrested: 8/9/2015 on charges of attempted murder, discharging a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm with a prior felony conviction. 
Date of death: 7/6/2017
Total time in jail: 23 months
Occupation: Laborer
Race: Mexican
Cause of death: Homicide. Strangulation. 
Investigative agency:  Alameda County Sheriff/Rebecca Lorenzana
Isolation: No. Housing Unit 9, Cell C10. Maximum security. 
Health and/or mental issues: Scalp contusion
Drug issues: None listed 
Restraints: None listed 
Narrative: Strangled by his cellmate after a fight. The Chronicle first identified the suspect as James Hunter, 22. Hunter had been booked on suspicion of vandalism at UC Berkeley. Hunter’s sister, Denish Pena, told the Chronicle that her brother suffered from schizophrenia and should not have been housed with anyone else. The homicide was not publicly revealed until the Chronicle published a story on Aug. 4, almost a month after the strangulation occurred. The Sheriff’s Office did notify the Board of Supervisors and the District Attorney, according to the Chronicle.  The coroner’s report describes the cell as messy and unkempt, with old food and garbage in the cell. The walls had "hand drawn occult-like images on them." 

Name: Miguel Gomez
Age: 37
Arrested: Not listed
Date of death: 10/26/2017 
Total time in jail: Not listed
Occupation: Electrician
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Sawn Sobrero
Isolation: Sort of. Single occupancy cell in Housing Unit 23. This is protective custody area, which can hold two inmates together. But Gomez "was confined alone in Cell 22. Gomez was housed with someone else but he was moved from Cell 23 to Cell 22, where he was alone. 
Health and/or mental issues: Inmates told deputies that Gomez was suicidal. 
Drug issues: An inmate said he was aware Gomez was on drugs and hadn’t been coming out of his cell. On Oct. 21, Gomez had been searched for drugs, but none were found. On Oct. 22, an inmate said they had used methamphetamine. He became paranoid and asked for a single cell. 
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: On Oct. 23, a deputy was dispensing the commissary in the unit and all the cell doors were open. An inmate came over to say that Gomez was hanging in his cell just before 9 p.m. He had hung himself from his bed sheets. Two "goodbye" letters were found in his cell. One appeared to be for a child of his and he signed it: "Goodbye, when you read this letter, I’ll be dead."  At 8:30 p.m. that night, he had been using his jail-issued tablet as a phone to talk to someone. There was a picture of a scythe and phrases in Spanish referring to death on his bunk. There also appeared to be a fact of the cat drawn on the cell wall, but deputies didn’t know if Gomez had drawn it. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead three days later.

His mother lives in a little village and only spoke Spanish. A deputy who spoke Spanish called to tell her the news. Gomez had last been in court on Oct. 16, 2017 and he plead not guilty. A future date was set for Nov. 9, 2017. 

Name: Mark "Marco" Anthony Laventure. Jr. 
Age: 33
Arrested: 10/28/2017. He violated his parole. He had originally carjacked and assaulted an 84-year-old man in Hayward in 2006. 
Date of death: 10/30/2017
Total time in jail: Two days
Occupation: Not listed
Race: Mexican
Cause of death: Accident. Multiple drug intoxication
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Jason Henshaw
Isolation: Yes. Administrative Segregation, Housing Unit 8, A Pod Cell 13. 
Health and/or mental issues: He had been taking some type of medication, the sheriff’s report states. His physical health appeared to be OK. He had an abscess on his right arm. He seemed agitated by this. In an interview with KTVU, his mother, Traci Gonzales, said he was bipolar and was severely emotionally disturbed from his brother getting killed by car. Gonzales said her son was also bipolar. Some of his challenges were described in his obituary. 
Drug issues: He had methadone, methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system. His mother said he was taking medication for being bipolar.
Restraints: No
Narrative: He was first arrested at age 22, his mother said, and he spent 10 years in prison. He got five years for felony carjacking and five years for elder abuse, his mother said. 

Gonzalez said her son hated to be cooped up. When he was out of prison, his mom said he would often sleep outside.

He "wanted to be free like a bird," she said. "He should have never been left alone."

His mother said she was asking about getting her son into a drug treatment program. She said she called probation officers repeatedly about this. 

On the day he was arrested, he was put in a one-man cell, where she said, "you just push the food in."

But he shouldn’t have been arrested, Gonzales insisted. She said he had already served his jail sentence in September after he had been caught sleeping in a stolen car, violating his parole. 

She said a captain acknowledged to her there was a computer glitch, which is why Laventure hadn’t been logged into the system. KTVU was not able to verify this claim.

On the day he died, she said her son was having a "bipolar high. He was manic. He was yelling he didn’t do anything," she said. She is questioning why he would have methadone in his system, a medication used to treat drug addiction. She said her son did not use heroin, which is often what methadone is used for. "They killed him," she said.

"He died all alone," Gonzales said. "And that just breaks my heart. I want to believe Jesus was there with him."

According to the autopsy report, on the day he died, deputies were passing out lunches and when he opened "the cuffing port" ‘on Cell 13, noticed that Laventure was not breathing. CPR did not work to revive him. One inmate said he never heard Laventure making noise from his cell and never caused any issues while out for recreational time. He was described by a deputy has having a calm demeanor. He told another deputy that he was back in jail because of a "bogus warrant" and he would get "revenge" for being arrested. He planned to "rob everyone he could" when he was released, a deputy wrote.  On Oct. 30, Sgt. K. Gemmell requested a press hold on this case. Nearly four months later, on Feb. 13, the press hold was removed.

Name:  Edwin Alexander Villalta
Age: 29
Arrested: 11/10/2017 for allegedly attacking police officers in Fremont. Police said Villalta tried to take a gun from one of the officers and steal a nearby car after he was involved in a car crash. He was facing charges of obstruction and resisting arrest.  
Total time in jail: 18 days
Occupation: Marine
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Shawn Sobrero
Isolation:  Yes. Administrative Segregation, housed alone in a two-man cell, Housing Unit 1, Cell D-9. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. Autopsy shows he had congested lung, liver, spleen and kidneys. He had a medical armband for some kind of issue.
Drug issues: None in his system
Restraints: The coroner’s report stated that Villalta resisted in arrest "which resulted in force being used" to take him into custody. He sustained facial injuries while being restrained. 
Narrative: About 2:30 a.m., a deputy saw Villalta sitting along on his bunk. At 2:56 a.m., the deputy found him hanging by his neck, secured to the upper bunk. It appears he had left some sort of suicide note, which was redacted. He had no physical contact with other inmates. An inmate said that Villalta was depressed because his court case was not going well and  his family stopped contacting him.

His sister, Jennifer, told KTVU that last part is not true. Her father had just visited her brother in jail and her mother was poised to visit him on the day she died. Instead, her mother's visit was "canceled," and she ended up finding out her son was dead.

Jennifer said her brother's phone card wasn't working and he wasn't getting the medication he needed. She said that he was being "punished" for his mental health issues, and deputies thought he was "hostile," when he really needed help.

"He had just told us that he wanted to get his life together," she said.

She said his anxiety and PTSD started after he left his career as a Marine for five years, where he was a computer avionics technician. She showed KTVU his honors, which included the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons and other letters of appreciation. 

When he left that about 2013, she said he had been working for a private airline contractor.

Deputies are supposed to perform a security check on every inmate in the unit at least once every 30 minutes. There was a press hold on his death, which was lifted on Dec. 24., nearly one month later.

Villalta was not on intensive observation log, a jail protocol for people demonstrating behavioral problems or who could be suicidal, according to a federal lawsuit. 

His cell window was obstructed by a piece of cardboard making it "impossible" for the deputy to see inside.

2018: 5 DEATHS

Name: Paul Wilbert Lee (*The sheriff disputes that Lee died in Santa Rita custody. However, an autopsy provided by the family shows he was having medical problems in a cell and suffered a heart attack on the sheriff's bus. The District Attorney has Lee’s name as a pending in-custody death. Results of this investigation have not been made public. ) 
Age: 49
Arrested: 11/27/2017 for DUI
Date of death: 1/5/2018
Total time in jail: Didn’t make it to jail. Suffered cardiac arrest on sheriff’s bus, taken to hospital. 
Occupation: Jack of all trades, his sister said. He was a barber, mechanic, plumber and electrician.
Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural. Medical complications following acute myocardial infarction and coronary atherosclerosis.
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Andrea Golden
Isolation: No, cell T-2.
Health and/or mental issues:  His sister said he had always been a heavy drinker but had never had a seizure before. He had been diagnosed with hypertension and asthma and smoke  a pack of cigarettes a day and consumed a pint of brandy and two beers daily.
Drug issues: Lee told officers he had taken six "Norco" pills that morning. 
Restraints: Not listed
Narrative: Lee was arrested by the CHP for a DUI and had a "medical emergency while in custody at Santa Rita Jail." He was being held in cell T-2 when a deputy observed him having what appeared to be a seizure. He was taken to ValleyCare Medical Center for three days and then to Stanford, and then to ValleyCare and then to Kindred Hospital in San Leandro, where he died about two months after his cardiac arrest. His sister, Tanasha Lee, said family didn’t even get a call about her brother’s hospitalization until three days after he was taken there. 

She also sent KTVU pictures of her brother in the hospital. "I know deep down inside that they did something to him," she said. "My brother never had any seizures a day in his life and as you can see the photo show that he did have a big gash in the back of his head that led him to have those severe seizures."

She added: "Ever since my brother passed away, my life has not been the same. I haven’t been getting any sleep. I break down and cry every day. I know we don’t never supposed to question the Lord, but I just keep putting my faith in praying that we get justice for my brother."  

The sheriff wrote in his report that the Lee family  initially flagged the death as suspicious "due to family making a false report" about the nature of his death. 

Name: Gino Dalbianco
Age: 58
Arrested: 2/1/2018
Date of death: 3/28/2018
Total time in jail: 56 days in jail 
Occupation: Veteran
Race: White 
Cause of death: Natural. Acute pulmonary emboli. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Matthew Meldrum
Isolation: No. Housing Unit 9, A-16. A unit for mental health inmates. He had a cell mate. 
Health and/or mental  issues: Yes. He was placed in mental health unit and had some sort of medical history. 
Drug issues: None listed
Restraints: No
Narrative: Deputies were doing their rounds and found him lying on his top bunk with a blanket covering him. He was unresponsive. There were no signs of foul play. His cell mate was out for recreation time. He apparently had refused any medical attention, including medication. He had tried to commit suicide in 1985 when he intentionally overdosed on prescription medication. There was no suicide note in his cell. He apparently told his cell mate that he was (redacted word) that he was not being sent to John George Psychiatric Pavilion. Dalbianco was a veteran. No relatives could be found. 

Name: Logan McKinley Masterson 
Age: 37
Arrested: 4/3/2018 Arrested for carjacking a woman in Livermore in the 2100 block of Third Street. Police said he pointed a gun at the woman and demanded the keys to her car. He was booked on charges of carjacking, being a felon in possession of a firearm, burglary, reckless evading, resisting arrest and possession of stolen property. 
Date of death: 4/8/2018
Total time in jail:  Two days, according to lawsuit
Occupation: Mechanic 
Race: White
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Roxanna Sill 
Isolation: Yes. Administrative Segregation. Housing Unit 2, Pod D, Cell 5. He had also spent time in the safety cell the previous day "due to suicidal ideologies." Lawsuit alleges he was in a "safety cell," but moved to an isolation watch after suicide watch was canceled.
Health and/or mental issues: Not listed. But a federal lawsuit alleges that medical and jail staff "were aware" that Masterson suffered from substance abuse/addiction and psychological ailments. 
Drug issues: No drugs found in his system. 
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: Masterson hung himself by a sheet. There was feces smeared on his cell door. It appears as thought he might have left a note in feces, but all the details were redacted. Masterson had been flooding his cell with water from his toilet that contained fecal matter. Masterson repeatedly asked for mental health care while he was alone in the segregated cell, but his requests were ignored. Jail staff were supposed to check on him by visual observation once every half hour, but that did not happen, a federal lawsuit alleges. "There is a significant problem with Santa Rita and the way that they’re providing for inmates," said Elise Sanguinetti, the family’s attorney, wrote in her suit, filed in March. "When (Masterson) was put into custody they knew he was suicidal. And they took him off suicide watch anyway. Within a very short period of time he was found dead." Masterson had a wife and an ex-wife and family in San Joaquin County. He lived in Stockton. 

Name: Jesus Dametrius Dickey 
Age: 45
Arrested:  4/23/2018 Arrested by Berkeley police in connection with a sexual battery report at student housing in the 2600 block of Durant Avenue, and an incident about two hours later in the 2500 block of Durant. Jail records list the second crime as false imprisonment with violence and burglary. He was arrested in People’s Park after authorities said he grabbed a student’s buttock, then later forced his way inside another woman’s apartment building and held her captive with sexual intent. Dickey  was on probation for assault with a deadly weapon at the time of his arrest, according to court records, Berkeleyside reported. 
Date of death: 6/26/2018
Total time in jail: 65 days
Occupation: Not listed
Race: Black 
Cause of death: Accident. Hyponatremia (A low level of sodium in the blood, a result of too much fluid, or drinking too much water.) Possible psychogenic polydipsia/ schizophrenia 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Damon Wilson
Isolation: Sort of. Housing Unit 8, Pod F, Cell 16. Protective Custody in maximum security. He had been the solo occupant of the cell since June 23. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, but redacted. There was a white paper cup with two pink pills and two pink capsules found in Dickey’s sock. Apparently, he wasn’t taking his medication for schizophrenia. 
Drug issues: None found in his system.
Restraints: None listed
Narrative: Inmates saw Dickey at breakfast at 4 a.m. At 8 a.m., his cell was opened for pod time and several inmates saw Dicky face down on the floor of his cell. He was lying on the floor face down. The toilet was full of feces and vomit. He died just before 9 a.m. He had a hematoma on the left side of his head that was bleeding. "Detective Paxton was uncertain of how the injury occurred and said Dickey was the only occupant of the cell." Inmates told deputies he seemed fine and had played chess the previous day during recreation time. He had a grandfather and brother. 

Name: Dujuan Armstrong  (There is a press hold on the coroner’s report, however the autopsy was obtained by 2 Investigates) 
Age: 23
Arrested: Convicted of residential burglary on May 8. Sentenced to weekend sentences for 120 days at Santa Rita. 
Date of death: 6/23/ 2018
Total time in jail: One day
Occupation: Tow truck driver
Race: Black
Cause of death: Accident. Death by asphyxiation along with cardiac hypertrophy and obesity. Dr. Michael Ferenc, who performed the autopsy, noted the restraints were so tight that it exacerbated conditions. "The clinching straps of ‘The Wrap’ were tightened such that his torso was bent...compressing his obese abdomen...Finally, an opaque spit mask covered his face, including his nose and mouth. In my opinion, each (of) these factors increased this gentleman’s risk for asphyxia," Ferenc wrote. Armstrong was in the WRAP for eight minutes. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Shawn Sobrero
Isolation: No. Cell SC-4 (sobering cell) 
Health and/or mental issues: Armstrong answered "no" at intake. Dr. Michael Ferenc noted Armstrong weighed 266 pounds and had pulmonary congestion and cardiac hyperthrophy. He had cocaine metabolite in his system, but no cocaine or ethyl alcohol. He also had THC in his system.
Drug issues: According to DA’s report, he self-reported using drugs over the phone to a woman, which was recorded. Later, he told a deputy he was high and believed he had gotten a "bad dose of powder," which is common for cocaine. The coroner’s report said he tested positive for marijuana, cocaine and meth. 
Restraints: Yes, WRAP and spit mask. Also, deputies delivered " a few knee strikes and foot kicks" after they said Armstrong was kicking. 
Narrative: Armstrong had appeared for his second consecutive weekend in the jail inmate program. He had four months left to serve. The day after he arrived, he started to display "unusual behavior," and he told deputies he was high on drugs. He was taken to the jail’s outpatient housing unit where he could get more medical care. Deputies said they cuffed Armstrong and he became combative. There was a struggle and he was placed in a WRAP. At first, a nurse said he was fine. Shortly after, he had no pulse. He died later than night. There are 66 body camera video files that exist as well as fixed video from the jail, which have not been released. Aftter his death, the jail no longer uses WRAPs, although sheriff's patrols still do. 

Armstrong was a father and lived with his mother in Oakland. There is still a press hold on the coroner’s report. This information comes from the Alameda County District Attorney, who found no criminal wrongdoing. There have been several community protests over his death, led by his mother. A documentary was also made about his death. 

2019: 10 DEATHS

Name: Cesar Augusto Pajuelo  
Age: 70
Arrested: 2/9/2019. Lewd and lascivious acts on a child and continual sexual abuse on a child.
Date of death: 3/10/2019
Total time in jail: 29 days
Occupation: Baker
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Homicide. Multiple blunt force.
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Damon Wilson 
Isolation: Not listed
Health and/or mental issues: Not listed
Drug issues: None in system
Restraints: No
Narrative: Pajuelo entered custody at Santa Rita on Feb. 9 after his booking on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child and continuous sexual abuse on a child. Pajuelo’s cellmate at the time, identified as Paul Stefano, 19, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Stefano had been booked March 6 on suspicion of auto theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Name: Michael Hermon  *The sheriff disputes that Hermon died in Santa Rita Jail custody, despite his name being released under a Public Records Act by the coroner's office as an in-custody death. The sheriff's office said he was released under the "Compassionate Release program," but no details were provided. 
Age: 47
Arrested: Feb. 21. Arrested in Berkeley after he reportedly shot a gun into his van. No injuries were reported. 
Date of death: 3/24/2019
Total time in jail: One month
Occupation: Army Gulf War veteran
Race: White
Cause of death: His parents say he was punched and beaten and acknowledged he had cirrhosis of the liver due to alcoholism. They said they were told that because his liver was so damaged, he couldn't heal from his injuries. The sheriff provided the death report on May 6, 2020.  They ruled his death a homcide. The causes were cerebral insufficiency and medical complications following blunt injuries to the head. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff Damon Wilson
Isolation: No
Health and/or mental issues: PTSD
Drug issues: Alcoholic
Restraints: No
Narrative: According to Hermon's father, Tom Hermon, his son had been taken to Santa Rita and was going to be released the next day to a veteran's diversion program. But the day before the release, his son was punched or beaten. His father said pictures showed severe facial injuries. He was taken to Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare in Livermore on March 13. Sgt. Ray Kelly told Berkelyside that he had been in a minor altercation, and that someone had punched Hermon in the nose. He was conscious and talking but his nose wouldn't stop bleeding. He was ultimately placed on life support at the hospital. Kelly said they do not consider this an in-custody death. 

At the time, the autopsy wasn't available, and Tom Hermon doesn't believe this story. He doesn't know who punched his son and he said the injuries looked much more severe than a simple assault. "Who killed him? A deputy or an inmate?" Tom Hermon asked. 

He learned of the injuries on March 17, four days after they occurred and was told that he would not be allowed to visit his son. Still, he flew to the hospital, where Michael Hermon was under sheriff's supervision the entire time, his father said. However, Tom Hermon said he learned that his son had been discharged from the jail. 

Before he went to jail for allegedly shooting off a gun in his van,  Michael Hermon was an Army veteran who served in Desert Storm and was an engineer and an elite jumper. He graduated UC Irvine with honors. He was accepted at Princeton University, but chose the PhD program at the University of Utah where he graduated with a doctorate in philosophy, his family said. He later taught ethics at the university.

He had been married and has two sons.

The autopsy did not identify who beat Hermon or if anyone had been arrested. 

Name: Omar Luis Porcayo 
Age: 40
Arrested: 05/23/2019
Date of death: 5/29/2019
Total time in jail: Six days
Occupation: Construction worker
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Natural, complications of heart disease
Investigative agency: Alameda County sheriff's investigator Jeff Hovda
Isolation: Yes. Housing Unit 21, F-pod, cell 1. This is called "Maximum Separation." 
Health and/or mental issues: Had some sort of history and was taking some sort of medication, according to a nephew
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 

Narrative: He died in the ER of Stanford Valley Care Hospital in Pleasanton. He had been found unresponsive in his cell and had complained earlier of feeling dizzy. He had been waiting release and was in cell T29 in the intake area alone before going to the hospital. His ex-wife was notified after he died. They had a daughter together. They made funeral arrangements at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery and Funeral Home. 

Name:  Hector Antonio Hernandez-Ibarra 
Age: 39
Arrested: 
Date of death: 6/5/2019
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: Latino
Cause of death: Natural, acute respiratory failure and pneumonia. *But he had also been on suicide watch. 
Investigative agency: Alameda County sheriff's investigator Mathew Meldrum
Isolation: Sort of. Housing Unit A-9, A-Pod, Cell 3. He had been placed with a cell mate for a while, until that cell mate was moved. 
Health and/or mental issues: His housing unit is for people with mental health issues.
Drug issues: No illicit drugs found in system. 
Restraints: 
Narrative: He had been placed on suicide watch on June 4. A deputy checked on his on June 5 at 3:05 p.m. when he had been sleeping. His next check was at 4:22 p.m., when he was found unresponsive in the fetal position. It is common practice for inmates on suicide watch to be check on every 15 or 30 minutes, civil rights lawyers say. Hernandez's father and stepmother were notified. A press hold was issued on the case on Aug. 28 for an unknown reason. 2 Investigates obtained the report on Jan. 20, 2020. 

Name: Christian Madrigal  *The sheriff disputes that Madrigal died in Santa Rita Jail custody, despite his name being released under a Public Records Act by the coroner's office as an in-custody death. The sheriff's office said he was released under the "Compassionate Release program," but no details were provided. The coroner's full report has not been released. KTVU does not agree with this analysis and is including Madrigal's name in the count.

Age: 20
Arrested: 6/10/2019 Madrigal’s parents called Fremont police that he had recently been released from a psychiatric hospital, the Santa Clara Valley Psychiatric Unit, for mental health issues and he needed to return. Since Madrigal wasn’t willing to go voluntarily, his family needed help in taking him back to the mental health facility, according to the claim. But instead, Fremont police arrested him for being criminally under the influence, instead of a psychiatric hold, Madrigal’s family said in a legal claim. 
Date of death: 6/15/2019
Total time in jail: 
Occupation: 
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Legal claim says suicide 
Investigative agency: 
Isolation: Possibly. 
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, his mother said.
Drug issues: 
Restraints: Yes. He was placed in a WRAP in Fremont. 
Narrative: On June 10, Christian Madrigal’s family sought medical assistance for their 20-year-old son because he was suffering a mental health crisis, according to a claim filed by civil rights attorney John Burris. When Fremont police arrived, Madrigal’s parents informed the officers that their son had recently been released from the psychiatric hospital for mental health issues and needed to return. However, Fremont officers ignored his mental health needs and instead determined to arrest him for being criminally under the influence, Burris alleges. Madrigal was first taken to Fremont city jail where officers allegedly beat, choked and placed the disoriented and mentally ill young man in a WRAP device, Burris said. Madrigal was then transported him to Santa Rita Jail. There, Burris alleges that jail deputies ignored Madrigal’s parent’s pleas to have him examined by a mental health professional and/or transferred to a mental health facility. Instead, a lieutenant with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department ordered his deputies to chain Madrigal to a cell door, in violation of the jail’s internal policies, Burris alleges. The deputies initially protested the lieutenant’s commands but ultimately relented to their superior officer’s authority, the claim states. Madrigal was left unattended for at least 10 minutes and was found trying to commit suicide by hanging himself using the very same chains the deputies restrained him to the door with, Burris said. Madrigal was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors refused to treat him, Burris said, because they noted his internal injuries were so severe they warranted emergent trauma care. Madrigal was then brought to Eden Medical Center where doctors diagnosed him as suffering from a lacerated spleen and liver along with bruising all over his body, including pulmonary contusions. He never recovered and died at Eden Medical Center in Hayward. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and the district attorney’s office are investigating the incident, per department protocol when an in-custody death occurs. The Fremont police said the "suit wrongfully claims excessive force was used against Madrigal while in the custody of the Fremont Police Department for being under the influence of drugs." The coroner’s report has not been made public in this case.

Name:  Christopher Dean Thomas  **The sheriff disputes that Thomas died in Santa Rita Jail custody, despite his name being released under a Public Records Act by the coroner's office as an in-custody death. The sheriff's office said he was released under the "Compassionate Release program," but no details were provided. 2 Investigates received the coroner's report on Oct. 31 from family. 
Age: 44
Arrested: A relative said he had been in and out of jail and prison for 15 years on drug and burglary charges mostly. Thomas may also have been in gangs, the relative said. 
Date of death: 7/6/2019
Total time in jail: Unclear
Occupation: Technician

Race: White
Cause of death: Suicide by anoxic encephalopathy and hanging. The coroner's report said he was found partially suspended with a noose fashioned from a bedsheet around his neck.
Investigative agency: Alameda County Sheriff/Anthony Gogna
Isolation: No
Health and/or mental issues: 
Drug issues: A relative said Thomas had a history of drug problems. A forensic report showed he had methamphetamine and marijuana in his system on June 30. 
Restraints: No
Narrative: The coroner's report states that Thomas was found partially suspended from a gate at the jail with a noose fashioned from a bedsheet around his neck on June 30. He was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with anoxic brain injury. He was on life support for several days and then gave away his organs. The report states he had "suicidal ideations" before being found.

A family member who asked to remain anonymous said he he skeptical of the report. He knows Thomas died, but he called out the fact that on page 10 of the report, it specifically states "no conspicious ligature mark or ligature furrow is on the neck." 

"You can't die by hanging without any marks around your neck," the relative said. 

Name: Raymond Christopher Reyes Jr. 
Age: 22
Arrested: 11/9/2019 arrested in San Mateo County, but transferred to Santa Rita on 2/8/ 2019, his wife said. He had cut his ankle monitor off, violating his probation from a prior burglary conviction when he was a teenager. Deputies noted he was a "known gang member." 
Date of death: 7/24/2019 
Total time in jail: Five months. His family said he was in isolation for 19 days.
Occupation: He had attended Chabot College
Race: Latino
Cause of death: Suicide
Investigative agency: Alameda County sheriff's investigator Shawn Sobrero
Isolation: Yes, but not for very long, his family said. He had actually asked to be alone to get out of the general population. He had moved three times, from Administrative Segregation Housing Unit 2, Cell E -13 to Housing Unit 2, B-9.
Health and/or mental issues: Yes, his mother, Yasmine Reyes said. He suffered from social anxiety disorder. 
Drug issues: Methamphatamene and naxalone found at "therapeutic levels." 
Restraints: Unknown 
Narrative: Raymond Reyes Jr. was in and out of jail, his family said, and had many challenges in his life. He met his wife, Vanessa, through Instagram in  2017 and they married three months later. They have a baby, Ray, who is four months old. His mother, Yasmin, and sister, Reanna, described Reyes as very funny and loving. On the day he died, he spoke to Vanessa at 2:30 p.m. by phone. He seemed fine and was looking forward to her next visit. At 5:30 p.m., she got an email saying he had been released. At first, she was happy. She couldn’t get any information when she called. About 10:30 p.m. that night, a deputy called her to say he had committed suicide. She wants a timeline of what happened. The answer doesn’t seem right to her. 

According to the deputy's narrative provided on Jan. 20, 2020, nothing seemed wrong with Reyes at 3 p.m. after he had visited with his wife. At 4:20 p.m., a deputy passed by and saw that Reyes' cell door was covered with cardboard as the evening food trays were passed out. The deputy thought that Reyes had wanted some privacy while he used the toilet. The deputy said Reyes said he was all right through the cell door. At 4:57 p.m. , the deputy looked into the cell through the handcuf port and saw that he had wrapped bed sheets around his neck. He was pronounced dead at  the jail. Deputies said he left "letters of intent" behind and that on March 28, he had been put in a "safety cell" because of "suicidal ideations."  One handwritten letter in the cell, dated July 24, outlined Reyes' love for his wife and their son but also his disgust that she was cheating on him. He also left a note for his mother and mentioned having regret about doing something to his sister. 

A fellow inmate, Jamario Harris, told KTVU that he heard Reyes begging the guards to be let out of his solitary room. "He wasn't getting any yard time," Harris said, who acknowledged that in Ad Seg, he thought about committing suicide twice a day. "He wasn't getting air. He told them, 'I can't be in this room. I can't be like this.' " 

Name:  Ray Porter  
Age: 66
Arrested: 9/29/2019 for violating his parole in a kidnapping, false imprisonment and domestic violence case. He was also out of compliance with his sex registration conditions.
Date of death: 10/6/2019
Total time in jail: 
Occupation: Homeless

Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural, complications with substance abuse and carcinoma
Investigative agency: Alameda County sheriff's investigator Jossue Badial
Isolation: He had been in the outpatient unit. 
Health and/or mental issues: Cardiovascular disease
Drug issues: Substance abuse
Restraints: 
Narrative: A sheriff's spokesman said the man had a terminal illness and there was no sign of foul play.

Name: Johnnie Leonard  (coroner’s report not available) 
Age: 
Arrested: 
Date of death: 10/24/2019
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death:
Investigative agency: 
Isolation: 
Health and/or mental issues: 
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative:  A sheriff's spokesman said Leonard went into medical distress after snorting a substance in his holding cell. 

Name: Christopher Crosby  (coroner’s report not available) 
Age: 31
Arrested: Feb 2018. He was arrested after a woman was stabbed in the neck at Berkeley Aquatic Park on Feb. 15. 
Date of death: 12/04/2019
Total time in jail: One year and 10 months, since February 2018.
Occupation: Homeless/tree trimmer.

Race: Black
Cause of death: Brother said he was told it was suicide; asphyxiated with a plastic bag.
Investigative agency: 
Isolation: Yes. Single person cell in Housing Unit 2, which is an Administration Separation unit. He was allowed out of his cell for one hour every other day. 
Health and/or mental issues: Brother said undiagnosed mental issues.
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative:  A sheriff's spokesman said Crosby was found "unresponsive" in his cell.  His brother, David Crosby, said his brother, Christopher, had some mental issues and had been living in a homeless encampment in Berkeley but would never hurt anyone. His public defender was working to free him from charges of attempted murder and assault, David Crosby said, adding that a witness misidentified his brother as the stabbing suspect. He said his brother called 911 in the first place. "I feel like he shouldn't have even been in Santa Rita in the first place," David Crosby said. In addition, David Crosby said he couldn't understand how a plastic bag could have gotten into in his brother's cell. 

2020: 4 DEATHS

Name:  Sotha Mey
Age: 38
Arrested: Jan. 20, 2020, Arrested on auto theft charges
Date of death: 2/2/2020
Total time in jail: Two weeks
Occupation: 

Race: Asian 
Cause of death: Natural
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Mey’s brother, Phok Mey, told KTVU in a phone interview that his brother went to Highland Hospital because he had hurt his hands on some needles while he had been scouring trash bins. He said he didn't know much more than that. 

Name:  Jonah Andrews 
Age: 25
Arrested: 
Date of death: 2/26/2020
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: White
Cause of death: Acute fluoxetine toxicity/accident
Drug issues: Yes 
Restraints: 
Narrative: An incident report states that a cellmate saw Andrews snort a "white powdery substance" and then vomit after drinking what appeared to be an excessive amount of water on the day before he died. Jonah Andrews was being prescribed a generic type of Prozac and Zyprexa drugs, which help for depression, according to unredacted records his father showed KTVU. But it's unclear how he would have gotten this substance and what it was exactly.

The coroner's report noted that Jonah Andrews only had drugs in his system that were prescribed to him.

Scott Andrews, his father, told KTVU that his son suffered from schizoaffective disorder. Jonah Andrews had been in and out of jail and had been receiving help through the county's mental health court and a program called Bay Area Community Services, or BACS. He was back at Santa Rita this time because he failed to show up for a court date, after breaking into his father's house, something his dad said he did because he heard voices telling him to do so.

Andrews said his son was a caring person who loved his dog, Jojo so much that their ashes were buried together in a memorial forest. And his dad said Jonah Andrews was kind to his siblings and friends.

Name:  Donald Nelson 
Age: 58
Arrested: 
Date of death: 6/29/2020
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: Black 
Cause of death: Pneumonia stemming from assault/Homicide
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Prosecutors said Nelson and his cellmate, Harrison Blake, were fighting May 1 in a holding cell, R 5, when a deputy saw Blake "stomping" on Nelson's head. Nelson was taken to the hospital, where doctors said he suffered from a brain bleed and a fractured spine. Nelson died a month later. The Alameda County Coroner ruled that his death was caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure caused by the traumatic assault. Blake was charged with murder and he has entered a not guilty plea. He remains behind bars at Santa Rita with no bail, jail records show. 

Name:  Guy Williams
Age: 
Arrested: 
Date of death: 8/1½020
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: Black
Cause of death: Complications of acute gastric hemorrhage
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: 

2021: 8 DEATHS

Name:  Vinetta Martin 
Age: 
Arrested: 
Date of death: 4/2/2021
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Suicide
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: According to the incident team report, the deputies working on the night Martin killed herself were supposed to have checked on her in Housing Unit 24 pod F-2 every 30 minutes. But they did not.

A logbook kept by one deputy showed that the officer had made the required visits, the prosecutor's report states, but body camera video surveillance showed "that the deputy did not check on Ms. Martin at the time indicated in the log." 

Name:  Lee Esther Anderson
Age: 421
Arrested: 
Date of death: 05/16/2021
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: Black 
Cause of death: Drug overdose
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Anderson overdosed on fentanyl, which another incarcerated woman had snuck into jail by hiding in her private parts.  The woman who snuck in those drugs had not been charged with Anderson's death, but she has been charged with distribution of fentanyl.

Before she died, Anderson wrote a blog detailing the conditions she faced at Santa Rita Jail, including a lack of health and safety protocols during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, animal and insect feces in the food, unsanitary and dangerous living conditions, and rodents in the jail cells and hallways.

Name:  Alston Robinson 
Age: 32
Arrested: 
Date of death: 
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Peritonitis/perforated ulcer/natural 
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: 

Name:  Marlon Reyes
Age: 44
Arrested: 
Date of death: 10/14/2021
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Suicide
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: 

Name:  Devin Darrell West
Age: 27
Arrested: 11/15/2021
Date of death: 
Total time in jail: 
Occupation: Longshoreman

Race: Black 
Cause of death: Homicide
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: West's mother, Christy Miles, said her son suffered from bipolarity and schizophrenia. Court records show he was accused of burglarizing a car.

Court records also show he was supposed to be released three days after he was killed, after a two-month stay. When she called to check on him, jail officials said he had already been released. But it turned out, he was dead. He had been killed by another inmate, Emil Cochran. 

Name:  Maurice Monk
Age: 45
Arrested: 
Date of death: 11/15/2021
Total time in jail: 
Occupation: Security guard

Race: Black
Cause of death: Natural, but didn't get  his medicine.
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Monk's sister, Elvira Monk told KTVU on Thursday that she had tried repeatedly to get her brother his medication, which he needed to treat his illnesses in Santa Rita, when he was brought there in early October.  He also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.

He was jailed in early October because of a missed court hearing stemming from the June arrest involving his mask.

At first, she said was told that she couldn’t provide the medication because the pills had to come from Kaiser. Then she was told she could email the prescription information to the jail, but her emails seemed to go to the "junk" basket and were never received, she said. Finally, she was told to fax the information in. She was about to, but authorities showed up on her doorstep to say he had died. 

Two years after he died, KTVU obtained exclusive body camera video showing he had been left languishing for days  before deputies actually walked in his cell and found him dead. 

Name:  Larry Roberson 
Age: 52
Arrested: 10/15/2021 on US Marshall hold.
Date of death: 12/15/2021
Total time in jail: 
Occupation: Never worked

Race: Black 
Cause of death: Hypertensive cardiovascular disease
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Deputies found him unresponsive on his cell floor before dinner. He had been in custody for two months on some type of federal charge. A press hold was requested for his case. His next of kin was listed as Shellon Lambert. 

2022: 5 DEATHS

Name:  Marcos Garibay
Age: 
Arrested: 1/01/2022
Date of death: 1/06/2022
Total time in jail: Five days
Occupation:

Race: Latino
Cause of death: Acute peritonitis/ulcer
Drug issues: Fentanyl was in his system
Restraints: 
Narrative: At the time of his death, Lt. Ray Kelly said a man appeared to be suffering from opioid or fentanyl overdose symptoms in the jail reception area, which also serves as the COVID quarantine housing unit. Kelly said that deputies, jail nurses and paramedics tried to save his life using Naloxone but to no avail.

However, a death certificate shows that Garibay died of acute perotonitis because of a perforated duodenal ulcer. His father thought the discrepancy was odd.

An incident report said Garibay was being held in Housing Unit 22, a COVID unit, after being arrested for stealing a car. 

He was pronounced dead at Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton. 

He left behind a son, who was 9 at the time. 

Name:  Leonard Brown 
Age: 36
Arrested: 
Date of death: 03/1½022
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Suicide
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: On the same day that Brown attempted suicide, a family friend tried to reach him but was told he had been "released," according to Yolanda Huang, an attorney who spoke with his mother. No other information was given.

Huang recounted that the hospital called Brown's mother, Blondell Brown, to say that her son was on life support and asked her if she would be willing to harvest his organs.

Brown arrived at the hospital later that day, but her son was brain-dead. 

Name:  Jose "Nick" Cardenas Pina 
Age: 30
Arrested: 5/17/2022
Date of death: 06/07/2022
Total time in jail: 
Occupation: Construction aide

Race: Hispanic 
Cause of death: Swallowed jail-issued wristband but the coroner ruled that he died because of complications of alcohol withdrawal. 
Drug issues: Fentanyl was found in his system 
Restraints: 
Narrative: The Alameda County Sheriff's Office originally said this was not an in-custody death, despite a police report that shows deputies used force on the 30-year-old Oakland man and that he had also swallowed a jail-issued wristband. 

A coroner's investigator report also noted that he had been involved in a use-of-force incident with a deputy. 

He was taken to Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton because of this force incident and remained at the hospital.

He was technically released from custody on May 23, 2022. 

On June 6, 2022, a doctor said Cardenas' health began to deteriorate rapidly.

The sheriff's report ultimately concluded this was an in-custody death. 

"My son is yet another victim of Santa Rita Jail," Cardenas' mother, Lydia Pina, said in a statement through the Ella Baker Center. "I want answers and full accountability. What happened? How do people keep dying in that jail? This needs to end."

An autopsy showed hat Pina had hepatic cirrhosis and morbid obesity.  

He was also married, the sheriffs report noted. 

Name:  Nelson Chia 
Age: 73
Arrested: 10/27/2022
Date of death: 10/28/2022
Total time in jail: A few hours 
Occupation: Financial advisor

Race: Asian 
Cause of death: Suicide/asphyxia due to hanging 
Drug issues: No positive findings
Restraints: 
Narrative: Chia was arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his girlfriend. He died by suicide within hours of being taken to Santa Rita Jail by hanging himself with a T-shirt, KTVU has learned. He had been in the intake area for a total of 16 hours. He was buried at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. 

Name:  Ali Muhammad
Age: 72
Arrested: 
Date of death: 
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest

Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: 

2023: 6 DEATHS

Name:  Stephen Lofton 
Age: 38
Arrested: 
Date of death: 1/17/2023
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Suicide
Drug issues: Yes
Restraints: 
Narrative: Lofton had been struggling with substance abuse and died by suicide. Deputies found Lofton with a "ligature constructed from a jail-issued bedsheet about his neck and tied to the top bunk" as they were distributing medicine. 

His mother, Elizabeth Lofton, said her son had planned to go to a program to battle his addictions when he got out of jail.

"He had a lot to look forward to," she said.

Her son had been living on the streets and had been to Santa Rita before.

"He was very much loved," she said. "I loved him with all my heart." 

Name:  Charles Johnson II 
Age: 45 
Arrested: 
Date of death: 2/4/2023
Total time in jail: 
Occupation:

Race: 
Cause of death: Natural due to bacterial meningitis and streptococcus pneumonia. 
Drug issues: Lab found amphetamine, cocaine and other drugs in his system. 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Johnson died in Housing Unit 6, which is being used as a 5-day COVID quarantine intake area. He had been brought to jail on Jan. 27, for allegedly violating a protective order in Oakland. He was the only person in his cell. He was buried at AP Bannon's Mortuary. His mother, Maxine Johnson, was listed as his next of kin. 

Name:  Elizabeth Laurel 
Age: 40
Arrested: Feb. 11, 2023 
Date of death: 02/13/2023
Total time in jail: Two days
Occupation: Homemaker

Race: Hispanic
Cause of death: Acute polydrug toxicity, mostly fentanyl and methamphetamine. 
Drug issues: Yes. A toxicology report showed she had several drugs in her system. 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Deputies found Laurel unresponsive on her bunk in Housing Unit 21, cell E-1. Laurel was being treated for alcohol and fentanyl withdrawal and had been arrested with a large amount of fentanyl and methampetamine in her possession.  Her next of kin was listed as her mother. 

Name:  Candice "Cody" Vanburen
Age: 33
Arrested: Came to Santa Rita on 02/27/2023
Date of death: 02/28/2023
Total time in jail: Less than a day
Occupation:

Race: Black 
Cause of death: Anoxic encephalopathy, due to provable acute fentanyl intoxication. 
Drug issues: Yes. A lab found fentanyl in the system 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Vanburen was assigned to Housing Unit 21 D, cell 18 as the only person in the cell. 

During intake medical screening, Vanburen admitted drug use, the sheriff said, but there was "no cause for concern found" during the intake process.

A deputy found Vanburen unresponsive about 5:20 a.m. during a wellness check. Staff administered five doses of Narcan, but they were unsuccessful.

Name:  Eric Jesus Magana
Age: 26
Arrested: Came to Santa Rita on 03/28/2023
Date of death: 04/27/2023
Total time in jail: One month
Occupation: Homeless

Race: Mexico
Cause of death: Acute water intoxication. 
Drug issues: Yes 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Magana was arrested on burglary charges. He had last been seen drinking a "profuse amount" of water before he died in Housing Unit 1, Cell D. He had admitted some drug use. When he was arrested, he told Livermore police that he had no money, food or work and was just trying to survive. It took sheriff's officials more than a week to track down his family to notify them of his death. 

Name:  Yuri Brand
Age: 39
Arrested: Came to Santa Rita on 09/10/2023
Date of death: 09/13/2023
Total time in jail: Three days
Occupation: In-and-out of prison

Race: Black
Cause of death: Homicide 
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Brand suffered serious mental illness. He had been in-and-out of prison since he was a young man. He broke into a Piedmont home, where he stayed for two days. He was charged with burglary and was awaiting his arraignment. He was killed, allegedly by his cellmate, and never showed up to court. His mother was told the following day that he died, but nothing else. They hired attorney Adante Pointer to get more information. 

2024: 2 DEATHS

Name:  Eric Johnson
Age: 53
Arrested: Feb. 7, 2024
Date of death: Feb. 8, 2024
Total time in jail: Four hours
Occupation: 

Race: Black
Cause of death: Unknown.
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Johnson was booked by San Leandro police who arrested him in connection with a car theft about midnight. Deputies found him "unresponsive" in his cell in the intake area about 5:15 a.m. the next day. Medical staff tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead. 

Name:  Abrion William McElmore
Age: 30
Arrested: Sept. 9, 2022
Date of death: Aug. 27, 2024
Total time in jail: Two years
Occupation: 

Race: Black
Cause of death: Unknown.
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: The sheriff's press release did not state how McElmore died, only that he was found "unresponsive" in his cell and never regained consciousness. McElmore had been at Santa Rita Jail since September 2022 on multiple felonies, including forcible rape, assault, burglary, trespassing, and drug charges, the sheriff said. 

Name:  Steve Addison
Age: 57
Arrested: Aug. 1, 2024
Date of death: Sept. 17, 2024
Total time in jail: Six weeks
Occupation: 

Race: Black
Cause of death: Unknown. History of medical conditions. 
Drug issues: 
Restraints: 
Narrative: Addison was booked after Berkeley police said he allegedly killed someone on Martin Luther King Way on July 3, 2024. The sheriff's office said he was having difficulty breathing and died at the hospital. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: The story was last updated on Sept. 19, 2024.

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez 
 

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