Residents allegedly struck burglary suspect with shotgun butt

A burglary suspect who died in police custody in Long Beach over the weekend was allegedly hit with a shotgun butt by residents who restrained him before officers arrived, authorities said Monday.

Deshoun Kenyon Torrence, 18, of Lake Elsinore died Saturday night after a scuffle with a resident and a neighbor of an apartment complex in the 600 block of Elm Avenue, authorities said. The cause of death has not been determined.

“A resident and neighbor used necessary force to restrain him before police arrived,” said Ed Winter, chief of investigations for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Based on initial information, Torrence was “struck by a shotgun butt by a resident and a neighbor,” he said.

Winter said police also used force to restrain Torrence before placing him in the back of a police cruiser. But he cautioned that an autopsy had not yet been performed and “we don’t know why he died at this point.”

Officers responded to a burglary call about 9:15 p.m. Saturday, police said. They found Torrence injured from his struggle with the neighbors, said Jackie Bezart, spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.

Before officers arrived, residents reported hearing screams for help from the apartment unit where Torrence was being held, Bezart said. Officers used “necessary force” to take the man into custody after he became combative, authorities said.

Police said the investigation into the death was ongoing.

Torrence’s hands were cut during the scuffle, said Mike Duree, spokesman for the Long Beach Fire Department, which sent paramedics. He was treated for those injuries and declined to be taken to a hospital, Duree said.

Shortly after paramedics left, Torrence stopped breathing in the back seat of the squad car, Bezart said. Officers performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead by paramedics who returned at 10:10 p.m.

Before he was placed in the vehicle, the suspect was “alert, oriented and coherent and answered questions appropriately,” officials said.

 richard.winton@latimes.com

 victoria.kim@latimes.com