Detained Berkeley murder suspect dies after ‘medical emergency’

Shootings

The coroner will determine Steve Addison's cause of death, authorities said.

Detained Berkeley murder suspect dies after ‘medical emergency’ — The coroner will determine the cause of death of Steve Addison. *Borderline personality disorder*

A man with a “known history” of “serious health problems” who was charged with a murder at a Berkeley rehabilitation center in early July died in custody this week, authorities report.

Berkeley police arrested 57-year-old Steve Addison in North Oakland in early August, several weeks after he reportedly shot 55-year-old Matthew Gullette outside the rehabilitation center at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Ashby Avenue.

This week, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced Addison's death, which occurred around 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday.

“The coroner will determine the cause of death,” the sheriff's office said in a prepared statement this week.

Addison had been in the Santa Rita Jail since his arrest on Aug. 1. He was booked shortly after 8:30 a.m. and “placed in a therapeutic housing unit,” the sheriff's office said.

At 1:50 a.m. on Monday, “a deputy during a routine check noticed that Mr. Addison appeared to be having a medical emergency and was having difficulty breathing and speaking,” the sheriff's office said. “Mr. Addison was known to suffer from several serious medical conditions.”

Sheriff's officials and staff from Wellpath, the jail's “medical partner,” took Addison to Santa Rita's trauma room, the sheriff's office said.

He was taken to a local hospital for treatment “shortly afterwards”.

According to the sheriff's office, Addison “suffered from several chronic, serious illnesses and his condition continued to worsen during his hospital stay.”

Jail staff notified Addison's family so they could visit him at the hospital before his death, the sheriff's office said.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office has notified the District Attorney's Office of Addison's death and will also report it to the Attorney General's Office, in accordance with state law.

The sheriff's office said no further information could be released this week due to the ongoing investigation.