Sheriff’s Office identifies Nipomo man who died at SLO County Jail
A 62-year-old Nipomo man died at San Luis Obispo County Jail on Monday night after being taken there on a DUI arrest, the Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release Tuesday morning..
Gregory Luis Trujillo “suffered a suspected medical event” in the intake and release area of the jail approximately an hour and half after arriving to the facility Monday night, the news release said.
Trujillo had been arrested for suspected DUI at approximately 3:10 p.m. in front of Nipomo Elementary School and taken to a local hospital for a DUI blood draw, medical exam, and clearance for booking, the department said.
He was transported to the jail after being medically cleared by hospital staff, the agency said.
Trujillo was booked at approximately 6:40 p.m., was processed, and remained in the intake area pending release.
“He did not complain, and we had no indication that he was feeling ill,” the department said.
At approximately 8:15 p.m., one of the inmates in the holding cell with Trujillo alerted custody staff of something wrong.
“Medical staff and custody staff immediately rendered medical aid but were not successful,” the Sheriff’s Office says.
Trujillo’s death is currently being investigated by the Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Unit, the Detective Unit, and District Attorney’s Office investigators.
The Sheriff’s Office says no foul play is suspected, and the cause of Trujillo’s death is pending an autopsy.
The Sheriff’s Office says that his next of kin have been notified but that no other information will be released at this time.
Trujillo is the second inmate to die in jail custody in the last six months, and the 15th to die in custody since 2012.
In September 2019, jail staff reportedly found 56-year-old Ernest Leonard Ortiz of Grover Beach unresponsive in a cell and began CPR, the release stated. Jail staff also administered Narcan and called for medical staff and outside medical assistance, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Ortiz was pronounced dead shortly after, the Sheriff’s Office said previously, and the death was being investigated as a possible drug overdose by the District Attorney’s Office.
Another inmate who had been seen with Ortiz earlier collapsed a short time later, the Sheriff’s Office said. He received an injection of Narcan and survived.
Ortiz had been in custody since late March for violating probation, according to court records.
It is not known whether the Sheriff’s-Coroner’s Office has determined an official cause of death. An investigation into the death was still ongoing as of Tuesday, and the the county has denied The Tribune’s requests for access to his coroner’s report and other records pending the outcome of the investigation.
The FBI launched a civil rights investigation into the jail in May 2017 following the controversial death of Atascadero resident Andrew Holland in January 2017 and a series of state and federal lawsuits alleging inadequate and inhumane treatment.
A spokeswoman for the FBI said Tuesday that the agency’s investigation remains ongoing. Agents conducted interviews of county employees in June 2017.
The County Jail is also undergoing a review from the U.S. Department of Justice, which is also looking into alleged civil rights abuses and whether the county should undergo a consent decree mandating improvements.
In-custody deaths in SLO County: 2012 to 2019
The following people died while in custody of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office since January 2012.
- Jan. 5, 2012: Kevin Lee Strahl, 53. Cause of death: Hepatic failure, liver fatty change.
- Nov. 12, 2012: Joseph Morillo, 43. Cause: Cardiac arrest due to thickening of heart muscle and morbid obesity.
- Jan. 27, 2014: Rudy Silva, 35. Died in hospital care. Cause: Acute hypoxic respiratory failure, septic shock, Influenza A and staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
- March 12, 2014: Josey Richard Meche, 28. Cause: Cardiac dysrhythmia with acute methamphetamine toxicity.
- May 30, 2014: Timothy Richard Jancowicz, 29. Cause: Respiratory arrest due to heroin toxicity.
- Jan. 11, 2015: David Thomas Osborn Sr., 63, Cause: Acute myocardial infarction, atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, hyperglycemia.
- March 24, 2015: Sean Michael Alexander, 33. Cause: Microscopic encephalitis, marked pulmonary edema.
- Sept. 20, 2016: Jordan Benjamin Turner, 36. Cause: Suicide with razor blade.
- July 16, 2016: Nicole Honait Luxor, 62. Died in hospital care. Cause: Complications from gallbladder cancer.
- Jan. 22, 2017: Andrew Chaylon Holland, 36. Cause: Intrapulmonary embolism.
- April 13, 2017: Kevin Lee McLaughlin, 60. Cause: Cardiac arrhythmia due to acute chronic ischemic heart disease.
- November 27, 2017: Russell Alan Hammer, 62. Cause: Pulmonary thrombo-embolism, deep vein thrombosis.
Sept. 1, 2018: Michael Wayne Nonella, 47. Cause: Suicide by asphyxiation.
Sept. 7, 2019: Ernesto Leonard Ortiz, 56. Cause: The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has said Ortiz’s death was the result of an unspecified overdose but, as of Feb. 25, 2020, the agency has continued to deny The Tribune’s request for Ortiz’s coroner’s report, citing an ongoing investigation.
Feb. 24, 2020: Gregory Luis Trujillo, 62. The Sheriff’s Office says the man was in the intake/release area of the jail when he apparently suffered some kind of medical emergency at about 8:20 p.m. while waiting to be released. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, the place of death was San Luis Obispo County Jail.
Video reporter Laura Dickinson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 10:51 PM.
