Officials Plan Autopsy In Death Of Inmate From National City At San Diego Central Jail

By Editor, Times of San Diego

March 18, 2022

Officials plan a weekend autopsy for an inmate at San Diego Central Jail who died late Thursday.

Deputies at the downtown detention center found Lonnie Newton Rupard, 46, unconscious and unresponsive in his single-occupant cell at about 10:45 p.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Jail personnel tried to revive Rupard prior to the arrival of paramedics, who took over the lifesaving efforts and transported him to a hospital. Doctors there pronounced him dead.

Rupard, of National City, did not appear to have suffered any traumatic injuries, sheriff’s Lt. Joel Stranger said. Investigators also found no evidence of suspicious circumstances in connection with his death, he added.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office has scheduled an autopsy in the case for Saturday.

Rupard had been in county jail since Dec. 19, when National City police arrested him for allegedly violating the terms of his conditional release from state prison. He had served a nearly two-year term stemming from a 2019 assault conviction, the lieutenant said.

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