NEWBURY PARK : Man May Have Died of Alcohol Overdose

A 35-year-old man whose body was found in his Newbury Park motel room died of natural or accidental causes, authorities said Tuesday.

Richard Donald Gutierrez may have died from an alcohol overdose in his room at the E-Z 8 Motel in the 2400 block of West Hillcrest Drive, authorities said.

There were indications that Gutierrez had consumed a large amount of alcohol before he died Sunday, Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Barnes said. In addition, Gutierrez was obese and had high blood pressure, Barnes said.

The Ventura County coroner’s office will wait for the results of toxicology tests to determine the cause of death, Coroner’s Investigator Mitch Breese said.

Ventura County sheriff’s detectives originally had investigated the death of Gutierrez as suspicious because of a fight he had with a friend the night before he died, Barnes said.