An Orange County jail inmate who fell into a coma and died after being restrained by deputies had received at least one fatal blow to the head, according to the preliminary results of a private autopsy. A pathologist hired by the family of Jason Jesus Gomez, 35, of Anaheim, has tentatively concluded that he was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, and not by the electrical charge from a stun gun, said the family's attorney, Stephen Bernard.

"The bottom line is he was beaten to death," said Bernard. Gomez's death was the latest problem to hit a Sheriff's Department battered by the indictment of its sheriff and a grand jury report that found rampant misconduct and inmate abuse at Theo Lacy jail in Orange.

Prosecutors conducting an official investigation into Gomez's death as well as Orange County sheriff's officials declined comment Monday. Results of the county autopsy are pending. The family last week filed a wrongful death claim against the county, the first step toward a lawsuit. But sister-in-law Christina Clark said they are seeking retribution, not money. "There's no amount of money that will satisfy us. The family is not going to settle. We want punishment," Clark said.