The County Coroner’s Office has identified an elderly man who died in County Jail last week as a Central Valley man who was arrested in Morro Bay after he allegedly stabbed his wife.
According to Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla, Russell Alan Hammer, 62 of Hanford was arrested by Morro Bay Police Nov. 6 for allegedly stabbing his wife with a butcher knife. He was charged with suspicion of assault with great bodily injury and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.
On Nov. 27 at about 3 p.m. a correctional deputy conducting cell inspections reportedly spoke to Hammer in his cell and he “stated he was not feeling well. The Deputy immediately called for medical staff. The medical staff, who were located right around the corner, arrived and spoke with the inmate who was alert and conscious.”
An ambulance was called and jail staff was moving Hammer in a wheelchair to the jail infirmary when he reportedly lost consciousness. “Medical staff and correctional staff immediately began life saving measures including CPR and the use of an automatic electronic defibrillator or AED,” Cipolla said. “Cal-Fire and paramedics took over the life saving measures, but unfortunately, they were unable to revive him.”
Hammer became the 12th inmate to die at the County Jail since 2011. But unlike the death last January of Andrew Holland, a mentally ill man from Atascadero who died after being strapped into a restraint chair and left there for 46 hours straight, Hammer’s death appears to be the result of a chronic health condition.
An autopsy was conducted Nov. 29 and preliminary results showed that Hammer, “died from a massive pulmonary embolism due to deep vein thrombosis in the left calf,” Cipolla said. “This was found to be a chronic condition and was asymptomatic. Other contributing factors include peripheral vascular disease and cellulitis in the left calf.
“However, the official cause of death is pending the outcome of the investigation and toxicology reports. At this time, there are no indications that drugs or alcohol were a factor in this death.”
According to the MBPD media logs, police were called at 2 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6 to a disturbance at an RV park in the 1700 block of Embarcadero. Hammer was arrested for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence.
