A man found Sunday afternoon lying on the sidewalk of a Walmart in Santee died later that evening, a sheriff's deputy said.
The incident started shortly before 3 p.m. where a patrol deputy saw the man lying on the sidewalk with an open container of alcohol behind the Walmart store on 120 Town Center Parkway, Lt. Rich Williams said.
The man was so drunk that he couldn't take care of himself so the patrol deputy arrested him for public drunkenness, he said.
The man began having trouble breathing in the back of the patrol car and an ambulance was called. While the ambulance was en route, the man stopped breathing and deputies performed CPR until paramedics arrived and took over, Williams said.
The man was taken to a hospital where he died, he said.
The Sheriff's Homicide Unit is investigating the death as per protocol in any in-custody death.
The man's identity was not released pending notification of next of kin. The Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of the man's death, Williams said.
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Anyone with information about this incident was urged to contact the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
