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Second Inmate Dies In As Many Days At Men's Central Jail
Men's Central Jail. Photo by Matthew Logelin via the LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr
A man died at Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night, marking the second inmate death in as many days at facility.
The death was reported at 10:54 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The circumstances and cause of death are not yet known. "We don't have a whole lot of information yet. We're investigating," Sgt. Vincent Plair, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, told LAist. The jail facility is located just northeast of Union Station, at 450 Bauchet Street.
Another inmate, 31-year-old Juan Correa Jr., died at the same facility on Tuesday. Authorities say that Correa was pepper-sprayed by Sheriff's deputies to end an assault on a fellow inmate. Deputy Kimberly Alexander, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, told LAist that deputies first gave verbal commands to deescalate the assault before pepper spraying the man. Correa was handcuffed after being pepper-sprayed and was cooperative as he was escorted to the shower area for decontamination, according to Alexander.
"During the decontamination shower, he began feeling ill and then became unconscious," Alexander said. Deputies first administered CPR while waiting for medical staff, and paramedics later pronounced the man dead at the scene after being unable to resuscitate him.
Correa was pronounced dead at 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday, and an autopsy is still pending.
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