Third SLO County Jail inmate dies this year

May 30, 2014

A 29-year-old Atascadero man was found dead on his bunk at the San Luis Obispo County Jail early Friday morning. He is the third man to die while in the county jail this year.

Shortly after 5:30 a.m., several inmates discovered Timothy Richard Janowicz unresponsive in his bunk. Deputies responded and determined Janowicz had died.

Atascadero Police arrested Janowicz on Nov. 20, 2013, for possession of a controlled substance for sale, carrying a concealed weapon and violating his probation

SLO Sheriff Department detectives are investigation the death and an autopsy is planned. Meanwhile, the jail has been placed on lockdown.

Janowicz is the third San Luis Obispo County Jail inmate to die this year shortly after being discovered incapacitated in a cell. Several former inmates and local attorneys contend conditions at the jail are so poor that multiple inmates have marred skin from the widespread incidences of staph infections.

On Jan. 23, Rudy Joseph Silva, 35, was discovered unconscious in his cell. He was transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center where he died of influenza and a staphylococcus infection four days later.

In March, Josey Meche, 28, was found unresponsive on a cell floor and died shortly afterwards from a heart attack. At the time of his death, he had a 105.1 temperature, a staph infection and a toxic level of methamphetamine in his system, according to the autopsy report.