Four hours after Eugene Wesley Youngblood was arrested on drug charges earlier this month, the 42-year-old man was found dead in the Lancaster Sheriff’s Jail.
Now, his family is looking for answers and says Youngblood is a healthy man with no underlying health issues. When he was taken into custody, his family said they were told he would be arraigned and released within hours.
Instead, Youngblood died in his cell, and his family said authorities had no answers about what happened.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that the death remains under investigation and so far investigators have found no evidence that officers used force during Youngblood’s arrest or detention.
“The department thoroughly investigates each in-custody death for policy and procedural issues as well as care evaluations,” the statement read.
On Tuesday, an attorney representing the family filed a claim against the county and said sheriff’s officials ignored the family’s requests for body camera footage, police reports and other information to piece together what happened while Youngblood was in custody. The claim does not mention a specific dollar amount but says the family is seeking “general, special and punitive damages.”
Brad Gage, an attorney representing the family, said the family also learned some concerning details, including allegations that Youngblood had bruises on his face when he died.
“He was a very young, healthy young man who was booked into the Lancaster jail and he died about four hours later,” Gage said. “We don’t know why he died.”
A final autopsy report is still pending, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Department records show Youngblood was arrested on June 5 around 5:30 p.m.
Youngblood’s niece, Vanessa Larry, said at a news conference Wednesday that she called the police department around 9:30 that night to ask if she could pick up Youngblood’s belongings.
However, the deputy she spoke to told her there was no need for her to come to the police station because her uncle was being held on a misdemeanor charge and would likely be cited and released.
“He’s dead,” she said. “I found out the next day. They wouldn’t even let me see his body. I just wanted justice for my uncle.
Youngblood’s family was told he was being arrested on a misdemeanor drug charge, Gage and his family said.
However, online sheriff’s records show Youngblood was booked on a felony charge.
Youngblood was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs for sale, the agency said in a statement.
According to a sheriff’s statement, an officer conducting a routine security check found Youngblood lying unresponsive in a bunk at the Lancaster Station jail, and deputies administered two doses of naloxone until the Los Angeles County Fire department paramedics arrived. Naloxone is a drug used to reverse a possible overdose.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to sheriff’s records.
Sheriff’s officials said an autopsy was pending but said there were no signs of trauma or use of force on Youngblood at the jail.
Gage and his family said there was no indication Youngblood was taken to the hospital.
“Our understanding is that he went from jail to the morgue,” Gage said.
Larry said she was never told why her uncle was given naloxone.
Gage also said the family had never seen Youngblood take drugs, and they were concerned about the bruises on his face they saw when they identified his body, “as if he had been punched in the face.” “
“He didn’t deserve to die at this time,” Youngblood’s sister, Gina Youngblood, said at a news conference Wednesday morning. “We just want answers.”
Family members said Youngblood was still wearing jewelry and carrying a large amount of cash when he walked out of Larry’s house that day.
They said when they recovered his belongings, the jewelry appeared to be missing and less than $2 in cash was returned.
“I knew he had more money because I saw him before he left home,” Larry said.
Sheriff’s officials said personal property and evidence were collected as part of the investigation, which remains ongoing.
Gage said the family hopes to obtain officer body camera footage and reports as well as jail security video to understand what happened to Youngblood that day.
“If you don’t have answers, it seems you can’t get justice,” he said, “and families can’t get peace.”
