Factors Cited in Death of Man in Custody

The Ventura County coroner’s office has officially ruled that the death of a Thousand Oaks man in police custody on New Year’s Eve can be attributed to several factors, including drug intoxication and obesity.

Marco Marangoni, 29, died from cardiac arrest Dec. 31 after sheriff’s deputies forcefully detained him. On his death certificate, the coroner’s office said Marangoni died of “cardiac arrhythmia due to asphyxia during prone restraint.”

Deputies were unaware that Marangoni’s breathing was restricted after they subdued him by putting him on his abdomen after a struggle. The autopsy showed that the pressure restricted Marangoni’s breathing and resulted in a drop in his blood-oxygen level, which led to the cardiac arrest.

According to Assistant Medical Examiner Janice Frank, Marangoni’s death was caused by several factors, including his weight of more than 300 pounds, his excited state and marijuana intoxication. The deputies’ use of pepper spray was not listed as a factor.

MedTrans paramedics tried to revive Marangoni by attempting to run a tube into his lungs and pumping in air. The autopsy report showed that the tube had been placed in the man’s esophagus, which leads to the stomach.

Frank said the incorrect placement of a breathing tube did not contribute significantly to the man’s death.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to residents’ complaints of an incoherent man acting strangely shortly before 11 p.m. Dec. 31 in the 1000 block of Calle Pensamiento.

Marangoni became combative when police arrived and was subdued with pepper spray. When police realized Marangoni wasn’t breathing, he was taken to Columbia Los Robles Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:40 p.m.