There’s been an arrest in connection with the death of a man who died of a drug overdose while in custody in the Ventura County jail system. Alexander Beirne had a medical emergency August 30th while he was at the county’s Pre-Trial Detention Facility. Deputies and jail personnel provided first aid, but he died later in the day at a hospital.
An autopsy showed the 38 year old Ojai man died of a methamphetamine overdose. Sheriff’s detectives began investing how Beirne got the drug while in jail. It led to this week’s arrest of Ricardo Ortega of Oxnard. The 31 year old man is accused of bringing a controlled substance into a jail facility, and with furnishing a dangerous drug.
