The 24-year-old inmate found dead in the county’s downtown San Diego jail two weeks ago — the Sheriff’s Department’s second in-custody death this year — was allegedly killed by his cellmate, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday.
Brandon Yates was found dead around 1:35 p.m. Jan. 16 during a safety check, homicide Lt. Joseph Jarjura said in a news release. Yates had been arrested a day earlier on suspicion of burglary.
Investigators didn’t say how Yates died. His cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Evidence in the case later led homicide detectives to suspect Yates had been killed by his cellmate, Alvin McDonald Ruis, Jarjura said.
Chula Vista police officers had arrested Ruis Dec. 27 on suspicion of half a dozen charges including domestic violence, willful cruelty to a child and committing a felony while out on bail.
The 36-year-old has since been arrested and re-booked on suspicion of murder in Yates’ death.
The case is reminiscent of a jail death last year that prompted a family to file a lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department.
Dominique McCoy was taken into custody Dec. 22, 2021, for allegedly violating the terms of his probation, however, the 38-year-old’s probationary period — stemming from two misdemeanor drug-possession counts — had ended earlier that year, court records indicate. A week after his arrest, a judge ordered him released.
But while processing that order, deputies placed McCoy in a cell with John Medina, an 18-year-old Chula Vista man who had been arrested on suspicion of felony child cruelty and assault with a deadly weapon.
Medina beat McCoy to death, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. He is now facing trial in April for first-degree murder and other charges.
The Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, the oversight body that investigates the department’s in-custody deaths, found after an investigation into the fatality that deputies did not protect McCoy.
“Based on (incarcerated person) Medina’s documented propensity towards violence, the department failed to implement reasonable measures to prevent him from doing harm to others, shortcomings that contributed to IP McCoy’s death,” the report said.
“The lack of protection to IP McCoy cannot be attributed (to) one individual, but as a department the SDSD failed to provide a safe environment for McCoy,” investigators found.
McCoy’s family is now pursuing a wrongful-death lawsuit against San Diego County.
The Sheriff’s Department has struggled for years with in-custody deaths, which have continued despite what officials say has been a concerted effort to improve conditions and practices in their jails. Eighteen people died in San Diego County jails in 2021, and there were 20 deaths the following year and 13 last year.
This year’s first inmate to die, Eric Wolf, 33, was found on the morning of Jan. 6 in medical distress inside of his cell. He was pronounced dead roughly a half-hour later.
Staff writer Jeff McDonald contributed to this report.
