A 45-year-old male inmate died early Sunday morning, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department said Sunday.
The man, who was being held at San Diego Central Jail, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead there.
Several other jail inmates noticed at around 4:20 a.m. that the man “had fainted and was in medical distress” and informed deputies, authorities said in a news release.
Paramedics and the San Diego Fire Department responded and took him to a hospital.
On the way, the man “went into medical distress, prompting paramedics to initiate lifesaving measures,” a sheriff’s statement said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at around 5:20 a.m.
The man, facing charges related to possession of an illegal weapon and incarcerated since April 2024, had been found in the jail’s dayroom area, where he was “disoriented but responsive,” the statement said. He was evaluated on-site before paramedics arrived.
Authorities are not releasing the man’s identity until they notify his next of kin.
The Sheriff’s Homicide Unit is investigating, as is standard for inmate deaths.