SANTA ANA (CNS) - The family of a 37-year-old man who died while in custody at the Theo Lacy Jail in Orange filed a claim today with the county, a precursor to a lawsuit, alleging that the inmate was denied medication for schizophrenia.
Anthony Aceves was found “unresponsive in his bed” the morning of May 23, according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Braun said there were “no obvious signs of trauma” on his body. Orange County investigators are awaiting toxicology tests before determining a cause of death. Those tests can often take several weeks and are frequently done to determine if there were drugs in the decedent's system.
Activists with the American Civil Liberties Union have held a protest calling on county officials to be more forthcoming about Aceves' death. The inmate's mother, Diana, has appealed to Orange County supervisors to help her find out more information about her son's death.
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