UCSD Student In DEA Custody Forgotten, Almost Died Of Kidney Failure

A 24-year-old student at UCSD was arrested by the DEA in an ecstasy raid and forgotten in his cell for five days without food or water, where he almost died of kidney failure, before a DEA employee happened to discover the man by chance after hearing strange noises coming from the holding cells.

Once the authorities discovered the student was still in the cell, they decided to contact emergency medical services immediately.

The detained student told authorities that he discovered a while powdery substance while forgotten in the holding cell. He took the substance which later testing revealed was methamphetamine.

Sources close to the student have indicated that he nearly died of kidney failure, attributed to dehydration, while being treated at Sharp HealthCare.

Gretchen Von Helms, a San Diego defense attorney, has said that the victim could receive millions of dollars if he chooses to file a lawsuit. She was quoted by NBC 7 San Diego having said:

“In all my years of practice I’ve never heard of the DEA or any Federal government employee simply forgetting about someone that they have in their care. There has to be repercussions if people do not follow the safety and the care when they have a human being in their custody.”

John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor who claims he’s familiar with the DEA office’s holding cells, told NBC that the rooms are not equipped with bathrooms and that the detainee likely went without food or water after his subsequent detainment following a drug raid. He also said that the incident was “inconceivable” as every detainee is processed and it would be difficult to simply lose track. He was quoted having said:

“You talk about whether they might have done it intentionally, no way because somebody’s career is done over this.”

If you were the lost student in DEA custody, would you file a lawsuit after the grueling five day incident?

DEA Student Lost In Custody Video:

Source: NBC 7 San Diego