SANTA ANA : Female Drug Suspect Dies in County Jail
A 43-year-old woman who was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of drug violations died in jail Friday of unknown causes, Orange County sheriff’s investigators said.
The woman, whose name was withheld pending notification of family, had been suffering from numerous medical problems associated with drug use and had been placed in the Orange County Women’s Jail infirmary several hours before she died, Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini said.
“She was in pretty bad shape,” he said. “She had many open sores and other things like that.”
The woman was arrested Wednesday by Anaheim police on suspicion of drug sales and held in lieu of a $10,000 bond.
A deputy spoke to the woman Friday night and found her to be in good spirits, Martini said. But when he came back about 20 minutes later on a routine check, the deputy found her lying in her bunk “without any vital signs.”
“She wasn’t breathing anymore,” Martini said.
A nurse at the infirmary performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but could not revive the inmate.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
