CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Contra Costa authorities are investigating the death of an inmate who was being held at the Martinez Detention Facility.
The 40-year-old inmate was found unresponsive inside a cell Thursday morning, prompting a countywide fatal incident investigation.
A deputy assigned to the jail's intake area discovered Patrick Smith unresponsive in a room at about 9:06 a.m. Thursday, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. Paramedics pronounced Smith dead at the facility.
Smith was arrested by the Walnut Creek Police Department and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility at about 10 a.m. Wednesday on narcotics charges, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Under Contra Costa County's law enforcement fatal incident protocol, the Sheriff's Office and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office are investigating the death.
Authorities have not released a cause of death or said what led to the medical emergency.
Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600.
Tips also may be submitted by email to tips@so.cccounty.us or by calling the anonymous tip line at (866) 846-3592.
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