Sonoma County Jail inmate dies hours after arrest

A Sonoma County Jail inmate died Wednesday at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Rosa about four hours after being taken into custody by Windsor police.

The 32-year-old Sonoma County man, whose name is being withheld until his next of kin are notified, was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication at a Burger King on Hembree Lane around 9:15 a.m., sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum said in a prepared statement.

Windsor police had responded to a call that someone had urinated in the parking lot and was likely intoxicated, Crum said. When police arrived they found the man in a black sports car.

He was taken to jail at 9:50 a.m. and began showing signs of medical distress at 12:23 p.m. in the jail’s booking area. He was treated by four correctional deputies and five jail medics.

At 12:41 an ambulance was called and the inmate was brought to the hospital, Crum said. At 1:07 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office was notified of the man’s death.

An autopsy will be performed by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office to determine the cause of death, Crum said. The man’s prior medical condition was not known Wednesday.