Police Say Man Who Died in Cell Had Been Agitated

A 43-year-old Stanton man, who died suddenly Sunday after deputies arrested him on suspicion of spousal abuse, had been “combative and agitated” even after officers used pepper spray, authorities said Monday.

Deputies had been called to a home in the 10000 block of Sylvan Street in Stanton at 2:30 a.m. by a woman who said her husband was assaulting her.

Javier Sandoval Trejo initially cooperated with police as they walked him out of the house, but then he suddenly pushed the deputies and tried to go back inside, Lt. Dan Martini said. As he kicked and struggled, deputies used pepper spray, “which had little to no effect,” Martini said.

He continued to be combative and agitated at the jail, Martini said.

Shortly after Trejo was placed in a holding cell about 4 a.m., deputies noticed that he had stopped moving. He was treated and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

An autopsy was performed later Sunday, but the results were not available. The incident is being investigated by a special unit of the Orange County district attorney’s office, the regular procedure for in-custody deaths.