Four hours after Eugene Wesley Youngblood was arrested earlier this month on drug charges, the 42-year-old was found dead in the Lancaster Sheriff's Station jail.
Now his family is searching for answers and says Youngblood was a healthy man with no underlying health problems. When he was detained, his family said they were told he would be cited and released within a few hours.
Instead, Youngblood died in his cell, and his family says authorities have offered no answers about what happened.
Officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
On Tuesday, an attorney representing the family filed a lawsuit against the county, saying sheriff's officials ignored the family's request for body camera video, police reports and other information to piece together what happened to Youngblood. while in custody. The claim does not cite a dollar amount, but says the family is seeking “general, special and punitive damages.”
Brad Gage, an attorney representing the family, said relatives also learned troubling details, including allegations that Youngblood had bruises on his face at the time of his death.
“He entered Lancaster Jail as a perfectly healthy young man and about four hours later he was dead,” Gage said. “We don't know why he was dead.”
According to the Sheriff's Department, the final autopsy report is pending.
Department records indicate Youngblood was arrested around 5:30 p.m. on June 5.
Vanessa Larry, Youngblood's niece, said during a news conference Wednesday that she called the sheriff's station around 9:30 p.m. that day and asked if she could pick up Youngblood's belongings.
However, the officer he spoke with told him that he did not need to go to the station because his uncle was being held for a misdemeanor and would likely be cited and released.
“He was already deceased,” he said. “I found out the next day. They didn't even let me see his body. “I just want justice for my uncle.”
Gage and his relatives said Youngblood's family was told he had been arrested for minor drug offenses.
However, online sheriff's records indicate Youngblood was charged with a felony.
In a statement, the agency told the Antelope Valley Press that Youngblood was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale.
Youngblood was found unresponsive in his bunk at the Lancaster Station Jail by a deputy conducting a routine check, the Antelope Valley Press reported, and deputies administered two doses of naloxone until County Fire Department paramedics arrived. of the Angels. Naloxone is a medication used to reverse the effects of a possible overdose.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to sheriff's records.
Gage and his family said there is no indication that Youngblood was taken to a hospital.
“Our understanding is that he went from the jail to the morgue,” Gage said.
Larry said he was never given a reason why his uncle was given naloxone.
Gage also said family members never saw Youngblood use drugs and were concerned about the bruises on his face they saw when they identified his body, “like he had been punched in the face.”
“He shouldn't be dead right now,” Youngblood's sister, Gina Youngblood, said during Wednesday morning's news conference. “We just want answers.”
Family members said Youngblood was also wearing jewelry and carrying a significant amount of cash when she left Larry's house that day.
When their belongings were recovered, they said, jewelry appeared to be missing and less than two dollars in cash was returned.
“I know he had more money because I saw him before I left the house,” Larry said.
Gage said the family hopes to obtain footage and reports from officers' body cameras and jail security videos to shed light on what happened to Youngblood that day.
“If you don't have the answers, it seems like you don't get justice,” he said, “and the family can't achieve peace.”
