Report: Woman who died in police custody had health issues

A woman who collapsed Monday after a night in Suffolk police custody following a shoplifting arrest had heart and lung problems, officials said hours after her death.

A preliminary autopsy done Monday by the Suffolk medical examiner's office found Brenda Gains, 48, had "a number of health issues," including heart disease and bronchial problems, said Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky of the Homicide Squad. An official cause of death is pending the results of toxicology tests.

Gains, who police said was homeless and lived mostly out of state, was arrested at a Walmart in Islandia Sunday after being accused of trying to steal a large quantity of teeth whitening strips. She was taken to the Fourth Precinct in Hauppauge and held overnight in a single-person cell for a scheduled arraignment Monday on a petty larceny charge, Pelkofsky said.

At 4:55 a.m., Gains was served breakfast in her cell and "spoken to" by a civilian attendant who saw nothing amiss, police said. An attendant at 5:30 a.m. found Gains collapsed, unconscious and not breathing. The attendant alerted the front desk, and officers administered CPR. A heart defibrillator was attached but not activated after the device signaled it should not be used, officials said.

She was taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, where she was pronounced dead at 6:22 a.m.

Pelkofsky said Gains' arrest and detention were unremarkable, and that Gains gave no indication that she had medical problems. Attendants check on prisoners every half-hour, he said, and Gains was in bed through the night.

Gains was married and lived in West Virginia, said sister Victoria Gains of Raleigh, N.C., but was staying in Amityville with their mother and was taking heart medication. "She probably hadn't had it because she hasn't been home," Victoria Gains said. A message left at the mother's home in Amityville was not returned Monday.

With Matthew Coleman