Shootings

Jailed Berkeley murder suspect dies after 'medical emergency'

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

The medical examiner will determine Steve Addison's cause of death. BPD

A man with a "known history" of "severe medical conditions" who had been charged with a murder at a Berkeley halfway house in early July died in custody this week, authorities report.

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

This week, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced Addison's death, which took place Tuesday at about 1:40 p.m.

"The Medical Examiner will determine his cause of death," the sheriff's office said this week in a prepared statement.

Addison had been at Santa Rita Jail since his arrest Aug. 1, when he was booked just after 8:30 a.m. and "classified into a therapeutic housing unit," the sheriff's office said.

On Monday at 1:50 a.m., "a deputy conducting a routine observation check noticed that Mr. Addison appeared to be experiencing a medical emergency and was having difficulty breathing and speaking," the sheriff's office said. "Mr. Addison had a known history of several severe medical conditions."

Sheriff's deputies and staff from Wellpath, the jail's "custodial medical partner," moved Addison to the trauma room at Santa Rita, the sheriff's office said.

He was taken to a local hospital for treatment "shortly after."

According to the sheriff's office, Addison "suffered from several chronic, serious illnesses and his condition continued to decline while at the hospital."

Jail staff alerted Addison's family so they could visit him in the hospital before he died, the sheriff's office said.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office notified the district attorney's office about Addison's death and will also report it to the state attorney general's office, in accordance with state law.

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