News

Released: November 28, 2017 - Tuesday, 05:24 PM

Inmate Death Update

Contact: Tony CipollaPhone: (805) 781-4547Date and time of incident: 11-27-17, Approximately 3:05 PMPlace of Occurrence: County JailVictim Information: Russell Alan Hammer, 62, Hanford, CASuspect Information: N/AThe Coroner's Unit of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office is identifying the inmate who died in County Jail on 11-27-17 as 62-year-old Russell Alan Hammer of Hanford, CA.
Hammer was arrested by the Morro Bay Police Department and booked into County Jail on 11-6-17. He was accused of stabbing his wife with a butcher knife and charged with assault with great bodily injury and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.
An autopsy was conducted this morning. Preliminary findings show he died from a massive pulmonary embolism due to deep vein thrombosis in the left calf. 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.