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Kern County to pay $2 million to family of inmate who died in 2016 in settlement

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The Kern County Counsel's Office has settled a case for $2 million over the 2016 suicide of a Kern County inmate.

The family of Sergio Derkevorkian filed a lawsuit against the County of Kern, Sheriff Donny Youngblood, the Director of the Kern County Mental Health Department and others. Derkevorkian's death was ruled a suicide after he was found unresponsive in his cell in the Lerdo jail facility.

The family stated that the County violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by "failing to provide services or accommodate" Derkevorkian with access to the County's mental health services, such as appropriate housing and monitoring.

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