Investigation Underway After Contra Costa Jail Inmate Ezekiel McCoy Dies Following Fight
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) – A 30-year-old Contra Costa Jail inmate died Tuesday afternoon at the Martinez jail, about 24 hours after having been in a fight with fellow inmates at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond and subsequently treated for injuries at a Martinez hospital.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office on Wednesday were still investigating the death of Ezekiel McCoy of El Sobrante, who had been at the Richmond jail facing several felony charges.
The charges included attempted murder, child endangerment, burglary, having a concealed weapon in his car, domestic violence, making criminal threats and probation violation. He had been arrested by Pinole police officers on July 28.
The Sheriff's Office said McCoy was injured in a fight at approximately 5 p.m. Monday. He was taken to the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, where he was treated and released at about midnight into the custody of Sheriff's deputies.
McCoy was then taken to the Martinez Detention Facility, where he was placed in a "negative airflow" room pending the results of a COVID-19 test. Such rooms typically serve as isolation rooms to help protect the inmate and/or staff from infectious diseases.
McCoy was checked up on through Tuesday, including at 4:23 p.m. that day. About nine minutes later, jail deputies found an unresponsive McCoy in the isolation room.
Deputies and medical staff attempted lifesaving measures, and Contra Costa County Fire Protection District paramedics -- at the jail responding to an unrelated incident -- also provided treatment. But McCoy was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sheriff's Office said.
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Sheriff's Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff's Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
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