On March 14, 2021, just before 11:00 a.m., deputies at the Vista Detention Facility immediately responded to assist an inmate, forty-three-year-old Louis Ahyule Gomez, when he was found unresponsive in his cell. Deputies and medical staff performed lifesaving measures until relieved by fire department personnel. Unfortunately, Gomez was pronounced deceased at the facility.
Gomez was booked into custody by the La Mesa Police Department on February 17, 2021, for the charges of:
261(a) PC – Rape
220(a)(1) PC – Assault/Rape
The Homicide Unit responded to investigate the death. No evidence of foul play was discovered.
The Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and completed their reports. They determined the cause of death to be COVID-19 pneumonia, and the manner of death to be natural.