Crime & Safety

Coroner Releases Name of Man Who Died After Jump From Apartment Building

The man was Jonathan Lee Woodard, 25, a Gilroy resident.

The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office has released the name of a man who police said died after jumping from a building while fleeing officers on Friday.

The man was 25-year-old Jonathan Lee Woodard, a Gilroy resident, according to the coroner's office.

Two women, ages 17 and 19, called to report that Woodard was following them on Monterey Street at 2:34 p.m. Friday, said Sgt. Chad Gallacinao, spokesman for the Gilroy Police Department.

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Police arrived on the scene four minutes later, ultimately following Woodard as he went to the roof of the Milies Apartments near Sixth Street. The man jumped from the roof onto the adjacent building, where police detained him and had him transported to a local hospital, where he later died, said Gallacinao.

The reporting party and officers “observed that the subject was under the influence of some kind of intoxicant,” said the spokesman.

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Gilroy police had asked the coroner’s office not to release the man’s identity during the first part of their investigation, said Gallacinao. They removed the hold late Monday.

The county district attorney's office has assigned an investigator to review the facts of the case, a standard procedure when a subject dies in police custody, said Steve Lowney, supervising deputy district attorney of the South County branch.

"In any custody death that occurs, the district attorney's office will monitor the case," said Gallacinao.

Those with information about the subject or the incident are asked to contact police investigators at 408-846-0331.


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