SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diego Police are investigating after a man died in custody after reportedly breaking down a fence and walking into someone’s home Tuesday afternoon.
Police were called to the 2900 block of Hornet Way around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon after receiving a call from someone saying a man, later identified as Buddie Thomas Nichols, 40, had entered his home through a rear door.
According to police, the man broke down a fence and walked into the home through an open back door.
Two of the residents were upstairs while their 9-year-old daughter was asleep downstairs, according to police.
Police say one of the residents came downstairs when he heard commotion and confronted Nichols, punching him twice in the face and rendering him unconscious.
Police say the suspect woke up and ran out of the house displaying bizarre behavior after the resident kicked him. Witnesses told police they believed the man was on drugs.
When police arrived and tried to take the Nichols into custody, officers say he resisted, forcing them to use physical force to get him into handcuffs.
After paramedics arrived, police say Nichols became unresponsive and later died after being taken to the hospital.
