Postmortem examinations have determined that an inmate who died at Vista Detention Facility last year succumbed to intestinal ailments, authorities reported today.
Deputies performing routine safety checks at the South Melrose Drive jail found Corey Michael Dean, 43, unresponsive in his cell at about 3 a.m. on July 13, 2025, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Jail staff and paramedics tried in vain to revive Dean before pronouncing him dead at the scene, sheriff's Lt. Juan Marquez said.
The county Medical Examiner's Office has determined that Dean's cause of death was a bowel obstruction coupled with insufficient intestinal blood flow and resulting death of bowel tissue.
At the time of his death, Dean, a resident of San Diego County, had been in custody for about a month on suspicion of burglary and felony vandalism
"The San Diego Sheriff's Office extends our sympathies to the Dean family and all those affected by his passing," Marquez said. "A sheriff's family-liaison officer was assigned and will continue to support the family as they navigate through this difficult time."
San Diego County has been under intense scrutiny for years over its unusually high number of in-custody deaths. In 2022, the California State Auditor found "deficiencies with how the sheriff's office provides care for and protects incarcerated individuals (that) likely contributed to in-custody deaths."
That audit examined 185 deaths within the San Diego County jail system from 2006 through 2020, a rate that exceeded all of California's other large counties during that time period. The county had 19 custody deaths in 2022 alone, and another six in 2023.
The sheriff's office has committed to a $500 million effort to modernize and upgrade its jails, but advocates have questioned whether those efforts are sufficient.
