On Monday, May 29, 2023, at approximately 2:19 p.m., a Custody Deputy and WellPath medical staff member were conducting medical procedures within B-Unit of the Northern Branch Jail. While checking on inmates housed in B-Unit, they found a male inmate who did not respond to the check-in procedure. Custody deputies and WellPath medical staff entered the cell to physically check the inmate’s condition and found him unresponsive and not breathing.
Custody Deputies and WellPath medical staff began life-saving measures including administering two rounds of Narcan, performing CPR, and placement of an automated external defibrillator (AED). County Fire and American Medical Response (AMR) were summoned and responded to the jail facility. Paramedics continued life-saving measures, but the decedent did not recover and was pronounced dead at 2:46 p.m. without being transported.
The identity of the decent will be released once notification to his next-of-kin has been completed.
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Coroner’s Office are conducting an extensive investigation into the inmate’s death. The Sheriff’s Office will share additional information as it becomes available for release.
Update 05/30/2023 at 4:17 pm by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office:
The Sheriff’s Office is sharing additional information regarding the in-custody death on March [May] 29, 2023, at the Northern Branch Jail. Notification to the decedent’s next-of-kin has been completed and he is identified as 57-year-old David Lee Ligon from Santa Maria. He was booked on May 27, 2023, by the Sheriff’s Office for possession of narcotics for sale (felony), transportation of a controlled substance (felony), possession of narcotics (misdemeanor), and possession of paraphernalia (misdemeanor). He was being held on $30,000 bail.
An initial investigation indicates this is a probable overdose-related death; however, the final cause and manner of death are pending.
