LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Clearlake man who was in custody at the Lake County Jail while awaiting transfer to the state prison system died after being found unresponsive in his cell.
Daniel King, 46, was found by Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility staff shortly before midnight on Saturday, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich said other inmates who were sharing the cell with King called for help when they noticed he was not responding to them.
Deputies and medical staff responded to King’s cell and began CPR. Paramedics from the Lakeport Fire Department arrived and took over. However, shortly after 12 a.m. Sunday, King was determined to be deceased, Paulich said.
King had been in custody since late February 2020. Paulich said King was sentenced to four year in state prison in August for a violation of probation related to a domestic violence charge and was awaiting transfer to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Paulich said King had not been transferred to a state facility due to the state prison system’s COVID-19 policy of not accepting sentenced inmates at this time.
King had recently received advanced care from a local medical provider for a medical issue. Paulich said King was last seen by jail medical staff less than an hour before he was found unresponsive.
“King’s death was unexpected and he showed no signs of trauma. At this time there are no indications that COVID-19 was present or a factor in King’s death,” Paulich said.
In the fall, a COVID-19 outbreak was reported at the Lake County Jail, as Lake County News has reported.
In accordance with established in-custody death protocol, Paulich said detectives from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit, as well as investigators from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office, responded to conduct the death investigation.
The investigation is ongoing and the cause of death is pending an autopsy that will be performed later this week, Paulich said.
Authorities investigate death of inmate at Lake County Jail
- Lake County News reports
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