No charges filed in death of Hollywood 7-Eleven employee – NBC Los Angeles

Prosecutors have declined to file charges in the case of a Hollywood 7-Eleven employee who was hospitalized after an altercation with another employee at the store in June and later died.

LAPD officers responded to the store located in the 5700 block of Melrose Avenue on June 24 at around 2:15 p.m. after a report of two women involved in an argument that turned violent.

In a charge evaluation dated Nov. 25 and obtained exclusively by NBC4 Investigates, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said all people involved in the altercation were 7-Eleven employees with a history of disputes. A third employee joined the altercation before the fight was broken up by another employee, who said the fight was mutual, prosecutors said.

When police arrived, 24-year-old Jessica McLaughlin was found unconscious on the floor of the store, the LAPD said. She was hospitalized in critical condition and later died.

The medical examiner determined her death was caused by anoxic encephalopathy, a condition in which the brain is deprived of oxygen for a prolonged period. Other causes listed in the coroner’s report included cardiopulmonary arrest status post cardiopulmonary resuscitation, indicating CPR did not work, and exacerbation of asthma.

The examiner’s report noted there were no fatal injuries to McLaughlin’s head, neck or chest.

The manner of death was listed in the medical examiner’s report as homicide, indicating the person’s death was caused by another. Homicide can be considered lawful or unlawful.

“Because stress from the physical altercation can trigger an asthma exacerbation and subsequent cardiac arrest, the manner of death was classified as a homicide,” prosecutors said their charge evaluation.

Deadly force was not used by any of the parties and “although the medical examiner classified the manner of death in this case as a homicide, the evidence is insufficient to prove the homicide was unlawful,” the district attorney’s office said.

The DA’s office said several theories of criminal liability were considered, but there was insufficient evidence to prove anyone involved intended to kill or “acted with conscious disregard for human life.”

LAPD sources told NBC4 Investigates earlier this year that authorities found no criminal culpability before the case was submitted to the DA’s office for consideration of charges.