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Sheriff’s officials deny the claim.
Department officials did not count Armendo among the county’s in-custody deaths because a court order released him from custody while hospitalized, even though he never left the hospital after being taken there from the Vista jail.
Armendo was sentenced to 32 months in state prison two weeks before he was found unconscious June 29 at the jail. Court records show he was officially released from custody on July 6, a week after he was hospitalized, at the recommendation of the District Attorney’s Office.
“In light of Mr. Armendo’s medical condition, including his positive Covid diagnosis along with the Covid-19 pandemic, the people recommend that the defendant’s sentence should be recalled,” the court order said.