VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Relatives with loved ones who’ve died while behind bars in county jails are demanding transparency from the San Diego Sheriff’s Office following another in-custody death last Saturday.
“We're here to stand up for all of the people who have lost lives for transparency and accountability,” said Yusef Miller, founder of Saving Lives in Custody California.
Miller said he wants more information about the final hours leading up to the death of Bobby Ray Patton.
The 46-year-old man, believed to be from Escondido, was found dead on the floor of his cell at the Vista Detention Facility. Patton is at least the ninth person to die while in county jail in 2024.
The San Diego Sheriff's Office said in a press release Patton complained he was having flu-like symptoms on Dec. 24.
“He was seen by medical staff who ordered the appropriate tests. As a precaution, Mr. Patton was placed in medical isolation to ensure oversight of his symptoms and to prevent potential transmission to other incarcerated persons in custody," the release stated.
Four days later, deputies found Patton sitting on the floor of his cell while doing a hygiene check. He was breathing but didn’t respond to deputies, the sheriff’s office said.
About 10 minutes later, a nurse checked on Patton, and he started having trouble breathing and died.
Patton had been in custody since Nov. 25 and was booked on a felony warrant for bringing drugs into a jail.
The sheriff's office said his cause of death couldn’t be determined during the initial autopsy on Monday.
Miller wondered if adequate checks were done on Patton before his death and pointed out a state audit in 2022 found the sheriff’s office failed to prevent jail deaths. The audit singled out deputies for conducting inadequate safety checks.
“Two of the families behind us now their loved one would have survived if they had timely checks,” Miller, flanked by grieving relatives, said at a press conference Tuesday.
Diana Sanchez held a banner with her daughter Vianna Granillo’s photo. She died in 2022 at the Las Colinas women’s jail in Santee.
“She died because they didn't put her in medical detox,” Sanchez said.
Sheriff acting with 'urgency' to bring change
Jennifer Schmidt brought a photo of her father, Gilbert Gil, who died in the Vista Detention Facility in 2022.
She said her father had dementia and diabetes and claimed deputies mistakenly booked him for being under the influence while driving.
“They booked him into jail, and he died 16 hours later on the floor," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said it’s been almost three years since his death, but she still hasn’t gotten answers from the county about his death.
“I want transparency. I want accountability. I don't think we should have to sue the county to get answers for our loved ones," she said.
The sheriff’s office said the in-custody death count of nine in 2024 is the lowest it has been since 2012. Miller believes the death toll is 10, not nine, because the death of Eric Van Tine is not being counted.
He had been released from custody last December after being badly beaten while incarcerated and later died.
Sheriff Kelly Martinez said in a press release earlier in December that she has made improvements to detention facilities since coming into office, including the addition of routine wellness checks.
"Employees of the San Diego Sheriff’s Office are acting with sincere urgency to implement improvements for incarcerated persons in our care," the sheriff said.
Martinez said while the reduction in deaths is encouraging, it's not good enough.
"Until we ensure the dignity and safety of every person in our care every day, our mission is incomplete," she said.
