Inmate death ruled homicide from septic shock after K-9 bite infection

ORLANDO, Fla. — A medical examiner has ruled an Orange County inmate's death while incarcerated a homicide.

The final report was released Wednesday, more than three months after Max Gracia II was found unresponsive in his cell.

The medical examiner said Gracia's cause of death was septic shock, complicated by an infection from a dog bite he suffered before his arrest.

Gracia, 22, was arrested in August after robbing a BP gas station at gunpoint on John Young Parkway, Orlando police said.

Police said they found Gracia walking on Robinson Street after the robbery and attempted to detain him. Officers said Gracia broke free, ran toward a lake and jumped in.

Gracia ran out of the water and fought with a police K-9. After fighting with the dog, Gracia entered the water again and refused to comply with the officers' orders to swim to shore, police said.

After nearly two hours in the water, two officers were able to take the still-resistant Gracia into custody by wading into the lake and arresting him.

Raw: Orlando BP robbed at gunpoint

Officers said they found a bag that Gracia threw that contained evidence of the robbery as well. They said they also recovered cash assumed to have been stolen in the crime. The gun was also found, police said.

Gracia spent time in the emergency room at Orlando Regional Medical Center, but the medical examiner said the dog bite became infected after Gracia was incarcerated.

The medical examiner's report said that an E. coli bacterium was found, not only in the bite, but in Gracia's lungs.

“It has killed me inside. What I’ve found out as just taken me back to the day he died,” said Gracia’s mother, Willine Gracia. "Just because a person is arrested or incarcerated does not decrease the value of their life."

The report also said Gracia's kidneys had failed, he had internal bleeding and parts of his digestive system had suffered tissue death.

"I am so exhausted. But I cannot get tired because I'm everything he needs me to be and I will not rest until justice is done for my son,” Willine Gracia said.

The official conclusion read: "Due to the fact that the death of this individual is a result of injuries suffered during efforts to subdue him as he resisted arrest, the manner of death is homicide."

The Orlando Police Department released this statement: "On Aug. 6, 2015, Max Gracia committed an armed robbery of a Circle K store on John Young Parkway and violently resisted officers' efforts to peacefully take him into custody. Gracia struck a K-9 several times and attempted to drown the canine in a lake. Gracia actively tried to elude officers by hiding in the lake for more than an hour. After being apprehended, Gracia was treated for his injuries at the scene by paramedics and transported to ORMC for further treatment before being booked into the Orange County Jail later that day.  On Aug. 10, jail officials found Gracia unresponsive and he was transported back to ORMC, where he was pronounced dead. The District Nine Medical Examiner's Office has completed its autopsy report. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has conducted an investigation into Gracia's death. 
OPD has completed an initial review of the incident, and it appears all officers acted within policy and the K-9 performed the job it was trained to do. The Department is conducting an internal investigation since the K-9 bite is listed as a contributing factor in Gracia's death."

WFTV