Identity Released of Man Who Died in Jail
Authorities on Monday identified Michael Lee Wadle as the man who died Friday while in custody at the Van Nuys Jail, but a cause of death remains weeks away.
Wadle, 25, was pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, according to Scott Carrier, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. He said autopsy results are pending the completion of a toxicology report--indicating possible drug and alcohol levels, among other things.
Police said that after Wadle’s narcotics-related arrest, he was examined by a jail doctor according to typical procedures. On Friday afternoon, a cellmate told authorities Wadle was sick and Wadle was transferred by paramedics to the hospital, where he died.
Because the death is considered by the Los Angeles Police Department as an in-custody death, it is being investigated by the department’s Robbery/Homicide Division.
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