Deputies find man dead in Sacramento County Main Jail cell

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 34-year-old man died over the weekend in his cell at the Main Jail downtown, authorities announced Monday.

Jail deputies found the man unconscious in his cell shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday. Deputies called for medical help and began lifesaving measures, to no avail.

“Ultimately, all efforts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release.

The man, identified by his sister as Timothy Roy William Noble, was born and raised in Sacramento. He worked at AutoZone and as a meat cutter at Sam’s Club, his sister, Melissa Lackemacher, told The Sacramento Bee Monday afternoon.

He also developed an addiction to heroin and, despite kicking the habit a couple of times, started using again and ran afoul of the law, Lackemacher said. He had been in custody since Wednesday for three warrants related to theft, receiving stolen property and violation of a domestic violence protective order.

“I just want his name out there,” she said. “He might have been a repeat offender but wasn’t violent. He suffered from addiction and tried to kick the habit several times.

“But my brother was a sweet guy who loved his nephews to pieces.”

He shared a cell with another person. There were no visible signs of trauma, and no foul play was suspected, officials said.

Lackemacher said the Sheriff’s Office was aware of her brother’s addiction and had noted in his file that he was prone to having breathing difficulties when coming down from a high.

“If I ever needed anything my brother was always there for me,” she said.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for Lackemacher’s funeral expenses.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will release additional details after an autopsy, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

Six people died in Sacramento County’s jails in 2020, according to state records. Nine died the year before that.

This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 4:16 PM.