Danalee Pascua could face up to four years in prison for the death of Elisa Serna, who died in 2019 at the Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee, California. Pascua is accused of not checking Serna’s vital signs and leaving her on the floor for an hour before returning to perform what prosecutors are calling “futile lifesaving measures.”
The sheriff’s department initially said that Serna’s death was attributed to complications of drug abuse, but her family accused jail staff of knowing about her heroin usage before booking her. They had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county last year, saying that Serna was showing “obvious signs of medical distress” before her death.
“There is nothing more sacred than the sanctity of life and when that life is in the custody and care of government, it must be safeguarded and provided with the appropriate medical care,” said San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan in a statement. “The evidence in the in-custody death of Elisa Serna demonstrates criminal negligence that contributed to her death.”
The sheriff’s department offered condolences to Serna’s family. Meanwhile, the case against Pascua from the District Attorney’s office is ongoing.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
The day before she died, Serna was moved into the jail’s medical observation unit after reporting she felt dizzy and nauseous.
The District Attorney’s office said the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department alerted prosecutors to the case after conducting its own internal investigation.
Pascua is scheduled to be arraigned November 18. The District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to an email asking if Pascua had an attorney yet.
The sheriff’s department initially said that a contributing factor to Serna’s death was early intrauterine pregnancy.
Serna’s family alleges that jail staff had previously seen her vomiting, but did not provide her medical treatment.
Local San Diego news station CBS 8 reports that Pascua was placed on paid administrative assignment after Serna’s death and was removed from having any contact with patients. She was subsequently suspended without pay on November 4. The decision to suspend Pascua was “based on sustained findings of misconduct following a Sheriff’s Department Internal Affairs investigation,” according to the sheriff’s department statement. The District Attorney’s office has stated that the review will determine if there are “other parties who may also be criminally responsible” in the death of Serna.
