SANTA ANA ? A 53-year-old transient died during a mental-health evaluation Monday, several days after he was involved in a confrontation with officers who arrested him after a fight with churchgoers, police said.
Mario Marin reportedly died while undergoing treatment at UCI Medical Center, but since police were involved in the arrest that led to his being admitted to the facility, the incident is being treated as an in-custody death. Authorities have not released the cause of his death.
Mario Marin.
COURTESY OF THE SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT
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Marin was arrested after police received reports of a violent person at the City Lights Dream Center church in the 1200 block of North Ross Street just after 10 p.m. Dec. 28, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
Witnesses reportedly told police dispatchers that Marin was trying to fight with children and adults taking part in church services. Bertagna said Marin had a previously run-in at the church four weeks prior, when he was suspected of assaulting a pastor.
"When he showed up this time in the same combative behavior, they anticipated there would be a problem," Bertagna said.
Bertagna said several church members were able to overpower Marin, who screamed incoherently as they held him down.
Marin was able to break free and "actively resisted" the officers, Bertagna said. Authorities didn't specify whether Marin actively fought the officers, citing the active investigations into the confrontation.
The officers placed Marin in a control hold, Bertagna said, and used a Taser to take him into custody.
None of the officers or churchgoers required medical treatment, and police said Marin did not appear to have suffered physical injuries.
"There were no signs of him needing treatment beyond the psychological issues," Bertagna said.
Paramedics originally took Marin to St. Joseph's Medical Center, before he was transferred to UCI Medical Center on Dec. 30 after hospital staff determined that he required a "higher level of care."
Authorities are waiting for the results of an autopsy planned for Wednesday before determining the cause of Marin's death. It wasn't immediately clear where his body was found within UCI Medical Center or how authorities learned of his death at the facility.
According to Orange County Superior Court records, Marin pleaded guilty to 10 felonies from 1988 to 2000, including vehicle thefts, grand theft and embezzlement.
More recently, court records show that he either pleaded guilty or was found guilty by a jury of a half-dozen misdemeanors in 2005 and 2008, including resisting arrest, brandishing a weapon and possession of controlled substances.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office, as well as the Santa Ana Police Department's robbery-homicide and internal affairs units, are investigating the death.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7939 or semery@ocregister.com
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/marin-334039-police-bertagna.html
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