Update: Sacramento jail inmate dies weeks after fight with inmate, Sheriff’s Office says
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office disclosed late Wednesday that an inmate who died last week in a hospital had been injured at its jail a month before during a fight with another inmate.
The disclosure came hours after The Sacramento Bee requested information in response to an entry on the Sacramento County Coroner’s decedent log that listed the man’s place of death at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
The man, Brian Debbs, 33, died Saturday after receiving life-threatening injuries from a fight with fellow inmate Christian David Ento on July 8, the sheriff’s office said in a brief statement.
Ento, 33, was booked into the jail Jan. 18 on suspicion of evading fares on Sacramento Regional Transit and robbery, according the jail’s inmate log. Now, Ento faces a murder charge for Debb’s death, the sheriff’s office said.
Previously Wednesday, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Rod Grassman said Saturday’s death occurred at Sutter Medical Center and not at the jail. Grassman said late Wednesday that the department had initiated an investigation into the Debbs’ death but deferred to the department’s news release.
Coroner Kim Gin confirmed Debbs died at the hospital, and said the coroner’s log indicated the man was transported to the hospital from the jail on the morning of July 8. Gin said she could not provide additional information on the death or any potential injury or illness Debbs may have sustained.
Before the fight, Debbs was serving a 120-day sentence, handed down June 4 for misdemeanor public intoxication and resisting arrest.
Sacramento County Superior Court records show Debbs was charged in five felony cases and 17 misdemeanor cases between 2007 and 2019. His felony convictions include battery of a peace officer and witness intimidation.
Ento is scheduled to appear in court Friday. He is ineligible for bail.
Correction: Due to incorrect information, the hospital where Debbs died was misidentified in a previous version of this story.
This story was originally published August 7, 2019 at 11:46 AM.
