Crime & Safety
Santa Rita Jail Inmate Dies Following Medical Emergency
A 44-year-old Oakland man arrested on suspicion of murder died Saturday following a medical episode, the sheriff's office said.
DUBLIN, CA — A 44-year-old Santa Rita Jail inmate died Saturday, marking the jail’s third death of 2026.
On May 28, deputies observed Jeffrey Bryce McMaster, a former Oakland resident accused of murder, experiencing what appeared to be a seizure, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies and medical staff rendered aid, and McMaster was transported to a nearby hospital.
On Saturday, June 6, McMaster was medically discharged and transported back to the SRJ Outpatient Housing Unit, where he underwent a medical screening at approximately 11:40 a.m. During the screening, McMaster said that he needed to use the bathroom.
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Shortly thereafter, deputies heard a noise coming from the cell. Upon opening the door, they observed McMaster on the floor experiencing an unspecified medical emergency. Staff and emergency services began lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead at approximately 12:46 p.m.
His family has been notified, and a forensic pathologist is conducting an autopsy to determine the official cause of death. The death remains under investigation.
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McMaster is the third Santa Rita Jail inmate to die in custody in 2026. On May 31, 37-year-old Brandon Anthony Josep Watson died a day after he was transferred from Monterey County Jail.
In March, 37-year-old Kenyonna Farr was found unresponsive in her cell after being taken to the hospital earlier.
In February, Oakland woman Dequita Grace Harrell was found unresponsive in a public lobby restroom while waiting for an inmate's release.
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