Merced jail inmate on life support after apparent beating

A 29-year-old Merced County inmate was on life support Tuesday at a hospital, three days after he was apparently beaten in his jail housing unit.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Delray Shelton declined to identify the man, citing a need to “protect the inmate and to protect the integrity of the investigation.”

The man was arrested Saturday by Merced police on a felony warrant charging him with possession of more than a pound of methamphetamine. He also was booked on an additional warrant in connection with a child-custody case, sheriff’s deputies said.

Shelton said the assault happened in a housing unit at the main jail on 22nd Street in Merced. There are no security cameras in that unit.

“Because people use the restroom, change clothes and other matters, we can’t have cameras there,” Shelton said.

The man was booked into jail at 12:43 a.m. Saturday. Around 5 p.m., correctional officers found him suffering from major injuries. The correctional officers found the victim during their routine cell checks. Inmates did not alert authorities, Shelton said.

“Usually, there are about 12 people in each housing unit at the (main) jail,” Shelton said.

Investigators from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit and Supervised Released Team were investigating the assault.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Merced jail inmate on life support after apparent beating."