Crime & Safety
Recently Arrested Inmate Dies Behind Bars: Riverside County Sheriff
The man, found unresponsive in his cell at the Southwest Detention Center, was arrested earlier this week.
LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Lake Elsinore resident Michael Allen Weaver, 53, died of unidentified causes while awaiting his Friday arraignment, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.
Weaver was arrested Tuesday night and awaited his arraignment for at least two felony charges on Friday. Instead, he died in his cell on Thursday after being found unconscious by Corrections Officers, according to a department news release.
"Weaver was administered life-saving measures by jail staff until medics arrived and declared him dead at the scene," they said.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Though it was unclear what led to Weaver's death, deputies did not consider foul play a factor.
According to Lt. Deirdre Vickers of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, on Tuesday, just before 8:30 p.m., deputies stopped Weaver in the area of the 15 Freeway and Magnolia Avenue.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"The driver was arrested for driving without a license, possession of tear gas, and violation of probation," she said.
No other details about the arrest were immediately available.
According to jail records, Weaver, 53, was arrested Tuesday night by Lake Matthews Station deputies near the freeway and Magnolia Street. He was being held at the Southwest Detention Center on a misdemeanor charge of driving without a license, possession of tear gas and violation of probation, both felonies.
He was being held on $100,000 bail and was due in court Friday morning at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Anyone with information regarding the in-custody death was urged to call Carlos Leon, an investigator with the Sheriff's Department, at 951-922-7152.
This is not the first inmate to die days after being incarcerated in the Riverside County jail system.
From 2020 through 2023, Riverside County reported the highest homicide rate among large California jails, according to state data cited by the New York Times. In 2022 alone, at least 19 detainees died in county custody, marking the highest annual total reported by the California Department of Justice in more than three decades.
The surge has placed Riverside among the most lethal jail systems in the country.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
