Sacramento jail inmate dies after being found unresponsive in cell, deputies say

A 62-year-old man died after suffering a medical emergency inside the Sacramento County Main Jail, sheriff’s officials said in a statement late Wednesday night.

Deputies assigned to the downtown jail and medical staff from Adult Correctional Health Services responded earlier Wednesday to a cell where the inmate was in medical distress, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

The inmate stopped breathing, and deputies and jail medical staff began CPR, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was transported by ambulance to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to deputies.

Sheriff’s officials said the inmate was preliminarily believed to have died from medical complications and that no foul play was suspected at this time.

The man had been in custody since Dec. 16, 2024. Authorities said the man was being held for absconding from parole, failing to register as a felony sex offender with a prior conviction, assault with a deadly weapon and other violations related to Penal Code 290 sex offender registration, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Office said it would conduct a full inmate death investigation in accordance with department procedures and state law. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office was expected to identify the man to the public once relatives are notified of his death.

The death marked the first in-custody death reported this year at Sacramento sheriff’s facilities.

Since 2023, 16 other in-custody deaths have occurred at the sheriff’s facilities, which include the Main Jail downtown and the Rio Cosumnes Correction Center near Elk Grove.