Jaime Angel Gonzalez
Jaime Angel Gonzalez, 33, of Santa Maria, was held at the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Barbara County, where he died on December 28, 2022. The Santa Barbara County Coroner's Bureau ruled his death accidental and attributed it to methamphetamine intoxication, with dilated cardiomyopathy, obesity and physical restraint cited as additional factors. The sheriff's office said he became unresponsive in an observation cell, that deputies gave him naloxone and medical staff gave further doses, and that he briefly regained consciousness before being taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The District Attorney's Office found the restraint used on him reasonable and lawful.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose. The Coroner's Bureau ruled that methamphetamine intoxication caused the death, with restraint as an added factor, and the DA's office found the restraint reasonable and lawful, while the sheriff's office called it an apparent drug overdose.
Reported by: Santa Barbara County Coroner's Bureau (medical examiner or coroner); Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office.