Yet another inmate has died under uncertain circumstances at the Monterey County Jail, this time a 29-year-old Carmel Valley man named David John Sand who had suffered from severe schizophrenia for the past 10 years, according to his father, Eric Sand. David died on Saturday, Nov. 12. The cause of his death is unknown.
According to Sand, Sheriff’s detectives told him David was found in his jail cell unresponsive. Sand says detectives told him David had cut himself and it appeared he was attempting to write a message in blood on the wall. Sand does not know what was written. He was told photos were taken.
Sand also says he was told by detectives that an initial autopsy performed two days later on Monday, Nov. 14, showed David had an enlarged heart and his lungs were overweight, indicative of drug use. Sand says outside of jail David's drug of choice were methamphetamines. David had been in jail since early May.
Final autopsy results will take some time, Sand says. He plans on having a second, independent autopsy done. Sand wants to speak out because he believes his son's death was preventable.
"David could have been saved on any number of occasions and the county missed many opportunities to treat his schizophrenic condition," Sand says.
Monterey County Sheriff’s Capt. Joe Moses, who oversees the jail, said he was unable to comment. All questions were referred to County Counsel Les Girard. “No comment at this time,” Girard says via text. All circumstances surrounding the death are unknown, he says.
David was diagnosed with schizophrenia about a decade ago and has been in and out of psychiatric treatment centers as well as jails in Monterey, Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties, Sand says. He also spent time homeless on the streets of Chinatown in Salinas.
Most of the time spent in jails came about because of parole violations, Sand says, “as [David] was severely schizophrenic and could not comprehend what he was told to do.”
David’s latest stay in Monterey County Jail came after he was charged with a felony for throwing a rock at a fire truck, plus a parole violation, according to Sand. He was arrested then charged on May 19, 2021, and released, Monterey County Superior Court records show. David was put back in jail a few months later for failing to appear at a court hearing, and released again. He cycled in and out yet again, before finally being incarcerated on May 2, 2022, where he remained until his death.
The county jail has a history of deaths, including deaths by suicide, and is currently under a court-ordered monitoring program that was supposed to lead to reductions in incidents. The monitoring came as a result of a lawsuit filed by inmates in 2013 over jail conditions. In 2015 a settlement was reached that included the monitoring program.
After the death of Juan Carlos Chavez on April 20, 2022, Monterey County Public Defender Susan Chapman told the Weekly that the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, had made “significant efforts in improving safety and healthcare at the jail.” More work still needed to be done, she said.
Inmate Sergio Gonzalez died from Covid-19 on Sept. 24, 2021, while in custody during an outbreak of the virus. The family filed a lawsuit in September. Another man died under uncertain circumstances the month before. And another suspected death by suicide occurred in June 2021.
Days before David’s death, Moses lost his bid for the position of Monterey County Sheriff to Marina Police Chief Tina Nieto in the election on Nov. 8. Moses ran on a platform of expanding mental health services to inmates, many of whom suffer from mental and substance abuse illnesses. He told the Weekly he has collaborated with Monterey County Behavioral Health and community-based organizations to use state funds to convert the old jail into a behavioral health treatment center.
Moses also said under his leadership jail officials have made “great strides” in offering more mental health services, including the Jail-Based Competency Treatment program “so that those that have severe mental health issues can get rapid and intensive treatment without waiting for bed space” at a state hospital.
The captain said they had also begun the Medication Assisted Treatment program inside the jail “to give those that suffer from substance abuse the tools they need to overcome their addictions and transfer them to community-based care once released.
“We also just started an Early Access program to expand intensive services for those suffering from mental health issues before they even begin the court process. All these programs are being funded by sources outside of the county general fund,” he said.
In addition, Moses said the jail has become safer in the last few years, including 30 percent fewer suicide attempts.