Inmate, 62, Dies at San Diego Central Jail After Medical Distress; Homicide Unit Investigating

A 62-year-old man died at a local hospital Sunday night after experiencing medical distress at the San Diego Central Jail, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office reported.

According to a Sheriff's news release, several incarcerated persons alerted deputies at approximately 2:20 p.m. on Sept. 27 that a man in the dayroom area was in medical distress. Deputies found him disoriented but responsive and escorted him to the facility's medical clinic.

While in the clinic, the man went into medical distress, prompting medical staff and deputies to initiate lifesaving measures. Paramedics and San Diego Fire Department personnel transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 9:15 p.m.

The man had been in Sheriff's custody since Nov. 3, 2025, following an arrest by the San Diego Police Department. He faced charges of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, and resisting arrest. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The Sheriff's Homicide Unit is investigating the death per standard protocol for all in-custody fatalities. The Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board has been notified, and the Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause and manner of death.

This marks at least the seventh in-custody death reported in San Diego County jails in 2026. The county has faced years of scrutiny over its jail death rate, which a 2022 state audit found exceeded all of California's other large counties from 2006 through 2020. In October 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved a record $16 million wrongful-death settlement — the largest in-custody settlement in county history.

The San Diego Central Jail is located at 1173 Front Street in downtown San Diego.