A man died after his cellmate discovered him falling into medical distress in the Vista jail earlier this month, sheriff’s officials said, and the county Medical Examiner’s Office is working to determine his cause of death.
James Pittman, 46, died about two weeks after he was found “disorientated and confused” in his cell on Feb. 14, sheriff’s Lt. Michael Krugh said. Deputies attended to him before paramedics took him to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.
Pittman was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital after he had an operation. He died Thursday morning.
“The Sheriff’s Office expresses its deepest condolences to Mr. Pittman’s family and all those affected by his passing,” Krugh said in a news release.
A preliminary autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office was inconclusive, and investigators are continuing to work to determine a cause and manner of death.
The sheriff’s homicide unit will conduct an investigation of its own, and the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board has been notified.
Pittman, an Oceanside resident, had been in custody since Jan. 3, 2023, on suspicion of murder.
Last year, nine people died in custody in local jails, down from a high of 19 deaths three years ago. In 2023, 13 people died in custody.
