3 defendants in San Diego jail death case can't dodge mother's claims, judge rules

SAN DIEGO (CN) — A mother’s lawsuit against San Diego County jail officials will move forward against three defendants she accuses of contributing to the death of her son, who suffered from mental health issues and died of water intoxication while in pretrial detention.

Two defendants — Bryce Roller, a corrections sergeant, and Michael Campos, a corrections corporal working for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department — lost their bid for immunity. They made decisions to approve a transfer that put Lester Daniel Marroquin at risk of harm, “making it obvious that a transfer could lead to his death; and by not taking such measures, defendants Campos and Roller caused Mr. Marroquin’s death,” wrote U.S. District Judge William Hayes, a George W. Bush appointee, in his order on Monday.

Marroquin struggled for years with hallucinations and other mental health issues, according to his mother. Those problems led him to be repeatedly arrested and taken into custody, where he would stabilize with medications — but then be released without any proper help or resources to maintain his health.

During these cycles of incarceration, plaintiff Alba Marroquin de Portillo, his mom, was frequently in contact with her son. According to her complaint, they were a “constant source of healing and comfort to one another.”

In December 2020 Marroquin wound up back in jail, where he was placed in a safety cell — one that’s illuminated at all times, monitored by deputies watching from a camera and without furniture or a toilet — after an incident in which he was shot with a taser by a deputy and then attempted to hurt himself.

Marroquin cycled in and out of administrative segregation and safety cells for months, as his mental health seemed to worsen. He attempted to end his life twice in April 2021 and experienced hallucinations that made him believe he could talk to his mother through the toilet in his cell, which led him to uncontrollably drink water from the toilet bowl. His mother claims that these hallucinations got worse as jail staff cut off contact between her and her son.

Earlier in 2021, Marroquin was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation, but his mother says jail deputies continually failed to get him to these court-ordered evaluations.

On May 30, 2021, Marroquin again was transferred to an administrative segregation cell where he began drinking water from the cell’s toilet. After seeing him passed out on the cell floor, a sheriff deputy did not try to confirm his safety, his mother claims.

After an hour had passed, medical staff were called, his mother says, and Marroquin was pronounced dead from acute water intoxication.

Marroquin de Portillo sued the county in San Diego federal court for two counts of violating her son’s 14th Amendment right — for deliberate indifference to his medical needs, and for interference with familial relations — wrongful death, and a Monell claim.

Roller — who, with others, Marroquin de Portillo claims, made the decision to transfer her son from the jail’s psychiatric unit to administrative segregation — and Campos, who with another employee transferred Marroquin, filed motions to dismiss and strike Marroquin de Portillo’s second amended complaint.

La Cresheia Lee, a contractor working for the department, who Marroquin de Portillo also claims made the decision to transfer her son, filed a motion for judgement on the pleadings.

In their motions, Campos and Roller argued that Marroquin de Portillo’s claims that they violated Marroquin’s 14th Amendment rights to medical care under her right to enjoy the familial companionship of her son should be dismissed because there was no deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs.

Plus, they added, they should be entitled to qualified immunity — the controversial legal principle that shields government officials from liability unless they violate laws deemed to be “clearly established” at the time — because the law they may have violated wasn’t clear.

The suit, they add, doesn’t show that either Roller or Campos made a decision to transfer Marroquin. That decision has to be made by a psychiatrist, they argued, which neither of them are. The suit also doesn’t show how their decisions caused Marroquin’s death, they add.

Those disputed issues of fact will require the court to assess the county’s policies and their interpretation, which can’t be considered at this state in the case.

However, Marroquin de Portillo sufficiently alleged facts to support the claim that Campos and Roller caused her son’s death and acted with deliberate indifference, Hayes ruled, denying their motion to dismiss the Fourteenth Amendment claims and their claims for immunity.

Lee claimed that Marroquin de Portillo’s suit should be dismissed because it was filed beyond the statute of limitations. The original complaint was first filed in May 2023 against San Diego County and unknown defendants. She filed an amended complaint naming Lee, Roller, Campos and others as defendants in May 2024, followed by a second amended complaint in June 2024.

Hayes dismissed Lee’s argument, too, writing the filing of the initial complaint fell within the appropriate time period.

Marroquin de Portillo is asking the court to award her damages after a jury trial and says “punitive damages be awarded in an amount sufficient to deter and make examples out of these individuals.”

In 2022 the California state auditor reported that 185 people died in San Diego County jails between 2006 and 2020 — one of the highest rates of prisoner deaths in the state.

The auditor found that the jails failed to prevent and respond to the deaths of prisoners and that the sheriff’s department did not follow up with prisoners who needed medical and mental health services.

The auditor suggested the sheriff’s department should have stronger oversight and better standards for correctional care.

Representatives of Marroquin de Portillo, Lee, Roller and Campos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.