BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
A San Mateo County jail inmate, who had been arrested on a drug charge, was given an opioid instead of a sleeping aid, causing him to be unresponsive, he claims in a lawsuit filed against the sheriff’s office.
Brian Eduardo Siordia, 27, filed a lawsuit with his attorneys Joshua Henderson and Joshua Markowitz against San Mateo County and the Sheriff’s Office for giving him methadone instead of melatonin.
Methadone, an opioid, is used as a medication for treating opioid or heroin addiction. Melatonin is an over-the-counter sleep aid, according to Markowitz.
Alleged overdose
On April 24, 2024, deputies at the Maple Street Correctional Center gave Siordia methadone, which was intended for another inmate, Markowitz said. The mistake caused Siordia to overdose and become unresponsive, the complaint states.
His skin was discolored due to not having enough oxygen in his blood, and he had a slow heart and breathing rate, according to the complaint.
The jail’s health services did not want to comment on the lawsuit.
Siordia was convicted of a felony for having a firearm and drugs in 2024, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. He was sentenced to nine months in jail and two years of probation April 16, 2024, after pleading no contest, Wagstaffe said.
2023 arrest
He ended up in jail in 2023. On April 14 of that year, several people called 911 about a green pickup truck swerving on Interstate 280, just north of Edgewood Road in Redwood City, Wagstaffe said.
CHP responded to the calls and the truck had crashed into a tree alongside Interstate 280. Officers found Siordia and determined he was under the influence of drugs.
When officers searched him, they discovered a loaded handgun, a meth pipe, a small amount of meth in a bag and Xanax pills, according to Wagstaffe.
Siordia sued the county on June 3. He was in court on June 12 after violating his probation. He failed two drug tests when officers found him with methamphetamine, and he failed to report to an officer, Wagstaffe said.
He was given a two-year jail sentence, but had served it with good time and is now out of jail.
Methadone has contributed to a recent death at the Maple Street Correctional Center.
On March 15, inmate Kyle Harrison, 25, died after ingesting methadone, amitriptyline and gabapentin.
Amitriptyline is an antidepressant used to treat depression. Gabapentin is a prescription medication used to treat epilepsy, neuropathy (nerve pain) and Restless Legs Syndrome.
Harrison was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and was headed to prison to serve eight years for the deaths of a San Carlos couple who were killed in a collision caused when he was street racing in 2022 in Redwood City, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The allegations in this lawsuit potentially relate not to just this plaintiff, yet potentially also to the matter of the in custody death of Kyle V. Harrison during Corpus’ term running SMC Jails. The potential correlation of Siordia‘s assertion of being administered methadone instead of melatonin, when Harrison’s toxicology report indicates his death came about from a mix of drugs including methadone, cannot be a mere coincidence. Was Harrison taking melatonin too? Since all such drugs in custody are personally dispensed by medical staff directly to inmates, and the personal consumption is supervised, it appears substantial additional investigation is needed in both cases.
At best, the cases could be unrelated or there could be two negligent accidents. At worst, well, there are other documented cases of serial killers using medication dispensing as their modus operandi in the world. In between, it could be a negligent or involuntary homicide in the case of Harrison. Responsibility could fall to correctional health services or custody staff, if both. Regardless, one should certainly question a conclusion of “accidental” in the Harrison case.
With the recent inside information leaked by Commissioner Rob Silano in the June 4, 2035 ICAC meeting, questioning about an untrained deputy or correctional officer as the key supervising employee in the custody setting for Harrison, both of these matters merit close scrutiny and public disclosure. What of the internal investigations of both of there matters? Why have we not seen more transparency from Corpus and her cronies for both of these cases? How does this relate, or does it not relate, to the expedited hiring done by Corpus? Were corners cut in the hiring and background processes? Has Corpus led San Mateo County to the doorstep of a scandal like Rampart in LA, as far as hiring practices?