Overview

• James Pittman, 46, was found on Feb. 14 in a two-person Vista Detention Facility cell after a fall from the top bunk, according to the sheriff’s department.
• Deputies and Vista Fire Department paramedics moved him from the jail clinic to Palomar Medical Center, where he underwent a procedure and was admitted to the ICU.
• He remained hospitalized until his Feb. 27 death, which the San Diego County Medical Examiner determined resulted from blunt force trauma to the head.
• Sheriff’s homicide investigators and the Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board were notified, and a full in-custody death investigation is in progress.
• Pittman had been held since Jan. 3, 2023 on a murder charge, and the sheriff’s office says his family received updates and liaison support during his hospitalization.