Santa Clara Undersheriff talks about deceased inmate's history

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is answering questions about the mysterious death on Monday of a 33-year-old inmate at the Santa Clara County Main Jail. The death inside of the cell is getting extra scrutiny because it follows the beating death of another inmate just a few weeks ago.

ABC7 News has learned the identity of the inmate who died. Walter Roches from San Jose was arrested on Sept. 20 on suspicion of public intoxication and assault.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, as well as Undersheriff John Hirokawa, spoke to ABC7 News Tuesday night. Hirokawa is in charge of the jails in Santa Clara County. They could not reveal a great deal of information because the jail has not received any information from the coroner's office regarding the cause of death.

The sheriff's office decided to be transparent to at least update people on what they can tell us at this point, without violating federal privacy laws when it comes to heath care.

They say inside the jail, Roches had a confrontation with deputies one week before his death. Deputies noticed a behavioral change and they wanted to remove him from his cell for medical monitoring, but said he was not cooperative. Deputies used pepper spray, Clear Out -- which is a more concentrated form of pepper spray -- and they used some projectiles to try to get him out.

Sheriff's officials would not say which floor Roches was on when he died, but a person familiar with the investigation said he was on the 8th floor where inmates with mental health issues are housed.

Community activists have complained jail is not a good place for offenders suffering from mental health issues and said more facilities need to be available to treat them.

Monday morning, deputies, firefighters and paramedics did first aid and CPR on Roches, but were unable to revive him.

"It is still early on in our investigation. We are looking at all witnesses, looking at all his records while he was in our custody and all of his records previous to getting into our custody," Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. James Jensen said.

The increased scrutiny on this inmate's death comes about a month after the death of inmate Michael Tyree. The medical examiner said Tyree died of blunt force trauma and internal bleeding.

Three correctional deputies were arrested and charged with murder.

"We were fast, we were transparent, we did the proper things. In this case we're doing the same thing, we're investigating this to the fullest. And if it is determined there was foul play, we will hold those people accountable," Jensen said.

The sheriff's office said they are hoping the coroner can complete the autopsy by the end of the week, so they can move forward with the investigation.