Man found dead in Santa Fe County jail; cause under investigation
Mar. 28—A man died Wednesday at Santa Fe County jail, the first in-custody death at the facility in 2024.
Dominique Livingston-Esquibel, 37, was found unresponsive in his jail cell, Santa Fe County spokeswoman Olivia Romo wrote in an email. An investigation into the cause of his death is underway by the state Office of the Medical Investigator, Romo wrote.
Santa Fe police arrested Livingston-Esquibel shortly before midnight Monday on a warrant related to a March 2023 drug possession charge. He was booked into the jail early Tuesday morning.
Livingston-Esquibel was arrested along with several other people after a vehicle stop, Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Matthew Champlin wrote in an email Thursday. It does not appear he received a medical examination before he was booked into jail.
"The initial indication is there was not a medical clearance prior to booking," Champlin wrote, "as no force was used, the arrestee was alert, no injuries were reported, and he was cooperative."
Livingston-Esquibel attended an arraignment hearing Tuesday while in custody. Magistrate Judge Morgan Wood noted in a record of the hearing that when asked for his address, Livingston-Esquibel said, "I don't have one."
Livingston-Esquibel was arrested in early March 2023 after a Santa Fe police officer caught him smoking a fentanyl pill behind a commercial building on St. Francis Drive, police wrote in a criminal complaint.
His death marks the first death in custody at the county jail in 2024. Last year saw three deaths, with six in 2022 and two in 2021, according to records provided by the county. Four of the jail deaths in the last three years appear to have been caused by drug overdoses, while three were attributed to suicide.
