Man, 18, Dies in Custody of Apparent Cocaine Overdose

An 18-year-old man died of an apparent cocaine overdose while in police custody early Tuesday, police said.

Felix Pineda, who was arrested late Monday on suspicion of selling cocaine, suffered a seizure in his cell at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division station about 1:50 a.m. Tuesday.

He was taken to Midway Hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later.

Pineda told other prisoners he had taken cocaine earlier, said police spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba. He did not tell them how much he had taken or when, Alba said.

The suspect was thoroughly searched and under constant supervision after his arrest, Alba said.

An autopsy is expected to be performed within a week, a county coroner’s office spokesman said. The results will reveal how much cocaine Pineda took but probably not when he took it.

Pineda was in the 1100 block of South Mariposa Street after patrol officers saw him throw or drop a bag of what turned out to be cocaine, Alba said.

Police said Pineda might have been holding a small balloon of cocaine in his mouth and might have swallowed it. Narcotics dealers caught at the scene of a transaction often dispose of drugs in this way, Alba said.

“If this happened [to Pineda], the bag could have broken in his stomach, causing the overdose,” Alba said. “That is not unheard of.”