June 19--STOCKTON -- A grim year of deadly violence in San Joaquin County produced a grim 2011 report from the county Coroner's Office.
The number of homicides throughout the county increased by 37 percent last year, according to the county coroner.
The office's annual report offers a detailed look at deaths investigated by the coroner.
Of 707 cases investigated, 93 were homicides and 80 percent of those involved guns and 67.7 percent of them were in Stockton.
There were 68 homicides in 2010.
"We've seen a lot of guns and gang violence, which resulted in those homicides," said Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesman for Stockton Police Department.
Stockton had a record number of 58 homicides in 2011, and homicides are climbing at three times that rate so far this year.
"Anytime you hit a record number year, that's definitely concerning," Silva said.
So far for 2012, there have been 29 homicides. There were 12 at this date last year.
Stockton police and the county Sheriff have recently responded by forming a response team tasked with suppressing violent crimes in troubled neighborhoods.
Homicides are alarming, but the annual coroner's report also provides insight into a range of causes of death.
Death in San Joaquin County reflects a national trend. Heart disease is at the top of the pathology list, making up more than half of the total number of natural-death cases -- 157 out of 226 -- reviewed by the coroner's office.
The county's total mortality number for heart disease is, however, five times higher than the coroner reported. The Sheriff's Office investigates only a fraction of heart-related deaths.
The county, which has a high rate of diabetes, has more residents at high risk of heart disease, said Ramin Mandashi, a Stockton physician and author of "The Wisdom of Heart Health."
Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking and stress contribute to heart disease, Mandashi said.
"Education is very important about diet and exercise," he said. "One can really prevent cardiovascular disease if you take care of yourself. Often times, the first sign of a heart attack is sudden death."
Accidents were the second leading cause for death investigated by county pathologists. Drug overdoses were listed for more than half of the 228 accidental deaths.
There were 4,627 deaths in the county last year. County pathologists reviewed 61 percent of them.
Contact reporter Jennie Rodriguez-Moore at (209) 943-8564 or [email protected]. Visit her blog at recordnet.com/courtsblog.
Copyright 2012 - The Record, Stockton, Calif.
