Autopsy: Death Of San Diego Jail Inmate Caused By Drug Abuse

SAN DIEGO, CA — An autopsy has determined that the death last winter of a San Diego jail inmate stemmed from the cumulative effects of longtime drug use, authorities reported Thursday.

Deputies and a nurse distributing medication at San Diego Central Jail at about 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 18 found Irving Pineda, 35, slumped over a table in his cell, seemingly in "medical distress," according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.

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Jailers performed CPR on Pineda prior to the arrival of paramedics, who took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that morning, sheriff's Lt. Juan Marquez said.

The county Medical Examiner's Office has determined that Pineda died of chronic substance abuse, complicated by the combined toxic effects of buprenorphine, diazepam, methamphetamine and phenylephrine. Hypertensive cardiovascular disease was a significant contributing factor, according to the agency, which classified his manner of death as accidental.

At the time of his fatal medical emergency, Pineda had been in jail for six days on suspicion of grand theft and violation of a court order.

"The San Diego County Sheriff's Office extends its condolences to the Pineda family and all those affected by his passing," sheriff's Lt. Juan Marquez said. "A sheriff's family-liaison officer will continue to support the family during this difficult time."

The Sheriff's Office, which runs the county's jails, has been under scrutiny for years due its unusually high number of in-custody deaths. In 2022, the California State Auditor's Office found "deficiencies with how the (county agency) provides care for and protects incarcerated individuals (that) likely contributed to in-custody deaths."

That audit examined 185 deaths within the San Diego-area jail system from 2006 through 2020, a rate that exceeded all of California's other large counties during the same period. Nineteen in-custody deaths occurred in the county in 2022 alone, and another six took place in 2023.

The Sheriff's Office has committed to a $500 million effort to modernize and upgrade its jails.

In a statement released last October, the agency asserted that "significant improvements" -- including installation of modern camera systems capable of longer video retention -- had been made to the jail system in recent years. Additional upgrades, however, will require substantial government funding, sheriff's officials stated.

— City News Service