Accidental Death Following Arrest

Sonora, CA — The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department is reporting an accidental death during the arrest of James Harold Jones.

On Thursday, May 3rd, 48 year old James Harold Jones of Jamestown was arrested for an outstanding warrant. Tuolumne County Deputies transported him to the Tuolumne County Jail. During the intake process, Jones was observed ingesting an unknown amount of suspected narcotics that he had previously concealed.

Jones was immediately transported to Sonora Regional Medical Center for treatment where he died a short time later.

An autopsy was performed, the official cause of death is pending the toxicology report. According to Tuolumne County Sheriff Sgt. Jeff Wilson, Toxicology reports may take six weeks for results. The case is being further investigated by the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Detective Division.