Suspected meat thief at Antioch Lucky’s store identified, died from drug use not chokehold
Shortly before 9:30 pm Antioch police responded to the Contra Loma luckys supermarket for a call of a non breather after a choke hold. A store employee got into an altercation with a person that was allegedly attempting to steal meat. The employee was injured and transported to John Muir hospital. After trying to resuscitate The suspect for almost an hour he was pronunced dead at the sceneVideo Art by ArtBay News Video
Posted by Art Ray on Thursday, June 25, 2020
By Art Ray, Bay News Video.
By Sergeant James Stenger #3604, Antioch Police Violent Crimes Unit, Investigations Bureau
On June 26th, 2020, an autopsy was performed on 34-year-old Michael Hamilton by the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office. He was suspected of stealing meat from the Antioch Lucky’s store on Contra Loma Blvd., Wednesday night, and a store employee tried to stop him, got into a physical confrontation with Hamilton who stopped breathing and died at the scene. (See related article)
The autopsy revealed there was no trauma to Mr. Hamilton’s neck, indicating there was no use of a chokehold, carotid or any other pressure applied to Mr. Hamilton’s neck. Mr. Hamilton died from underlying issues of drug use and the excitement of the struggle he was involved in during this incident.
A preliminary drug screening showed Mr. Hamilton had methamphetamine in his system, but the amount is unknown until a full toxicology report can be completed. The 56-year-old store employee was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital on the night of this incident.
