Crime & Safety
Santa Ana Police Cleared Of Wrongdoing After In Custody Death
The suspect, who sustained minor injuries during his arrest while attempting to bite and head butt officers, later died at the hospital.
SANTA ANA, CA — No wrong doing was declared after an investigation of an in custody death. Last March, Terrall Magee, a 53 year-old transient, suffered a heart attack due to drug usage and died after a struggle with officers who were in the process of his arrest, according to Orange County Prosecutors.
Prosecutors concluded that Magee was under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine during the March 12, 2018 arrest.
Just before 9 p.m. on March 11, Magee attempted to break into a business at 2400 block of W. First St., but the owner saw the burglary through surveillance camera video and called police, according to a report from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
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An officer chased Magee into a liquor store and dragged him out, but the suspect attempted to bite the officer and head butt others, according to prosecutors.
Magee, who was taken to an area hospital when he was subdued, sustained minor injuries in the scuffle. The autopsy showed he was under the influence of amphetamines and methamphetamines and subsequently had a fatal heart attack, prosecutors said.
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