OXNARD : Inmate, 44, Dies of Unknown Cause

A 44-year-old Oxnard woman died of an unknown cause while in custody at Ventura County Jail, authorities said Friday.

Maria Gloria Mendez, an unemployed seamstress, was pronounced dead at Ventura County Medical Center at 11:32 p.m. Thursday, about two hours after she was discovered unconscious in the medical ward at the jail, authorities said.

Ventura County Deputy Coroner Dale Zentzis said an autopsy performed Friday did not reveal the cause of death. Authorities are waiting for results of toxicology and tissue tests, he said.

Mendez was arrested for using drugs and booked by Oxnard police on a warrant about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Husband said.

Mendez was under the influence of alcohol and heroin at the time and was put in the jail’s medical ward, Husband said.

“She had medical problems related to drugs, and abscesses on her leg, and they wanted to monitor her,” Husband said.

Mendez was put into a single-person cell and given medication to relieve her pain, Husband said. Nurses checked her vital signs periodically and monitored her through an intercom, he said.

When they checked her vital signs about 9 p.m. Thursday, they appeared normal, Husband said. Nurses then continued to monitor her through an intercom and in a routine check about 45 minutes later, Mendez was found unconscious.

She was then taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where she died.