Investigations were under way after an inmate at the Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria died Friday night, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Jail staff found 35-year-old Kristina Marie Chermak of Santa Barbara unresponsive at approximatelly 10:27 p.m., 23 minutes after custody deputies conducted a security check of the inmate’s cell where she was housed alone, sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said Saturday.
Custody deputies noted no issues at the 10:04 p.m. check, but Zick said a nurse distributing medication later noticed she was unresponsive.
Staff immediately attempted to resuscitate Chermak and called for an emergency medical response. Wellpath medical staff along with personnel from the county Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to the jail.
Lifesaving measures were not successful, however, and Chermak was declared dead at 10:48 p.m.
Detectives from the sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau were investigating the death.
Under standard Sheriff’s Department procedures, investigators from the Criminal Investigations Bureau and Administrative Investigation team also were called in.
“So far, this death does not appear suspicious, but the cause of death is not immediately obvious and will require an autopsy to assist in the determination,” Zick said.
Chermak’s next-of-kin have been notified, she added.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Chermak in Isla Vista on March 5 for suspicion of felony burglary and misdemeanor possession of stolen property.
Zick said she remained in custody on a court-ordered hold pending transportation to the Department of State Hospitals for restoration of mental competency so she could stand trial.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.