SAN DIEGO — San Diego County is paying $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the mother of a 16-year-old teen who died of a fentanyl overdose inside the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility.
CBS 8 obtained the settlement amount through a public records request.
Alan Arguelles was found dead in his room at the detention center on Sept. 8, 2021, with fentanyl in his system. Findings from a citizen's review committee report say the probation officers at the facility failed to check on the at-risk teen. The committee also found that deputies were unsuccessful in stopping fentanyl from getting into the detention center.
By the time Arguelles was found in the morning, rigor mortis had already settled in, according to the report. Despite a policy requiring youth detainees to be checked on every 15 minutes, officers did not discover he was dead for hours.
Department policy also states, in part, probation officers need to see signs of life, such as movement, the rise and fall of a detainee's back, or hearing them snore. But this didn't happen during the 51 safety checks guards performed throughout the night of Arguelles's death.
"It was impossible that 'signs of life' of Alan in his room were observed by probation staff during each safety check conducted given Alan was found with postmortem changes on the morning of 09-08-21," the report reads.
Adds the report, "Ultimately, it was the responsibility of the Probation Department to ensure its employees were appropriately trained and executing their duties as required."
The report also indicates staff knew "illegal substances" were present in the facility where he was housed.
In a federal lawsuit, Alan's mother, Brenda Arguelles, said her son had overdosed on fentanyl on September 5, 2021, just two days before getting booked into juvenile detention center. Two nights later, the federal lawsuit states Alan visited a "known drug dealer" inside of the Kearny Mesa detention center without supervision,
Hours later, he was found dead.
Arguelles says in the lawsuit her son had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues, including "hopelessness, insomnia, irritability, and feeling sad more often than not."
Her suit argues Alan should have been closely monitored due to his known risk for overdose, but the facility failed to do so.
The last time she saw her son alive in person, the lawsuit says, Alan "appeared bloated, swollen, had bruises on his cheeks and palms, and was acting lethargic."
She continued to follow up through video and phone calls but says he got worse each time.
"Ms. Arguelles observed her son becoming progressively more disoriented, confused, and slow," reads the lawsuit. Alan allegedly told her his medications had been increased during his stay — which included Zoloft, Melatonin and Prazosin — but she says facility staff never notified her of these changes.
In a phone call with his mother on September 3, 2021, he said he was tired and he would talk to her soon. It was the last time they spoke.
Arguelles was set to be released 18 days before he died.
CBS 8 reached out to County officials, but a spokesperson said they had no comment at this time.
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