Case documents reveal details, allegations in Ventura County Jail inmate's death

A Palmdale man facing a murder charge on suspicion of killing his Ventura County jail cellmate could also be liable for civil penalties. 

Vu Cong Dao, 36, appeared in Ventura County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon as the criminal case goes forward. A Vietnamese interpreter was used, according to court records. The matter was also continued until May 22. 

Vu Cong Dao

Dao is accused in the death of Michael Torres, 61, of Oxnard. Sheriff’s deputies found Torres unresponsive Oct. 25 in the cell he shared with Dao. Dao is also facing charges over an Oct. 23 altercation with deputies inside the jail. He has not yet entered a plea. 

    Torres had been in jail for allegedly violating a domestic violence restraining order, while Dao was being held there in connection with an Oct. 18 burglary at a Camarillo business, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. 

    Wednesday’s appearance was the first time Dao was back in court after a judge found him competent to stand trial. He was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation in November after Dao’s defense attorney declared doubt about Dao’s ability to understand and cooperate with the proceedings. 

    According to court records, deputies in the jail also had concerns about Dao’s mental state. Dao was reclassified a “pyschiatric inmate” and reassigned to a housing unit for psychiatric-classed inmates on Oct. 22, a day after he was seen arguing with his cellmate.

    “When interviewed, Dao’s cellmate told deputies Dao had accused him of trying to kill Dao on behalf of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Dao’s cellmate told deputies he did not feel safe being housed with Dao,” according to a declaration signed by sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Chips in support of a motion to increase Dao’s bail. 

    Dao was later seen by jail psychiatric staff and denied any prior psychiatric treatment or medications. Jail staff requested on Oct. 22 that Dao be assessed again due to “observed aggressive behavior and failure to follow directions.” That’s when he was sent to the different housing unit, the declaration states.  

    In an Oct. 26 interview about Torres’ death, Dao allegedly confessed to strangling Torres and “stated he thought Torres was a terrorist who was going to kill him,” the declaration states. 

    Torres’ mother, Oxnard resident Mary Torres, on Jan. 28 filed a $2.5 million claim against the county and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office over her son’s death and the loss of his love and companionship. 

    “Preliminary investigation shows that the county placed two mentally incapacitated individuals in the same cell with little to no supervision. Further investigation shows that the county was aware that Vu Cong Dao had dangerous and violent propensities in addition to being mentally incapacitated,” according to the claim. 

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    An attorney for the county did not respond to requests for comment on the claim. 

    Mary Torres’ civil attorney, Dean Aynechi, said the county rejected the claim in February and he will likely file a lawsuit within the next month. He said it has not been decided whether Dao will also be named in the lawsuit. 

    Aynechi said the Oct. 25 incident wasn’t the first time the county let down Michael Torres. He had a history of severe schizophrenia and other run-ins with law enforcement. 

    Torres was drifting and didn’t have housing, Aynechi said. Torres’s family claimed the county wasn’t helping him get the services he needed, Aynechi said. 

    “The family feels the county really let him down,” Aynechi said. 

    Now they’re trying to figure out why these two men were placed in the same cell, he said. 

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