Border Patrol agent died of drug overdose after arrest, autopsy says

A U.S. Border Patrol agent found dead in a Riverside County home after an arrest in Long Beach earlier this year was overdosing on cocaine and dealing with depression, according to an autopsy report made public Tuesday.

Isaiah Hodgson, 29, was found dead in his Hemet bedroom in late August with white “powder-like residue” next to him, according to investigative documents released by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office in response to The Times’ public records request.

Authorities ruled Hodgson’s death an accident and found three plastic ties normally used to hold drugs in his stomach, according to the medical examiner’s report. Riverside County sheriff’s officials had previously said there were no signs of foul play at the scene, and the report confirmed Hodgson suffered no injuries or defensive wounds. The official cause of death was described as “cocaine poisoning.”

In early July, Hodgson was arrested in Long Beach for fighting with city police. Prosecutors charged Hodgson with three counts of resisting arrest, battery causing injury to a police officer and multiple misdemeanor weapons offenses after he fought with officers responding to a restaurant in Shoreline Village. Staff reported that Hodgson had drunkenly entered the women’s restroom armed with a handgun and kicked him out.

In dramatic body camera footage reviewed by The Times, Long Beach police officers approached Hodgson on July 7 after a security guard called 911 to report that Hodgson showed him a gun.

“He showed me a scary clip,” the caller said in a 911 audio recording obtained by The Times.

When officers approached Hodgson, they shouted, “Get on the ground” and “Put your hands up.”

Hodgson raised his hands but did not come down. He claimed to the police officers that he worked in the police force: “Are you stupid, I am a police officer,” he said.

It took several police officers to get Hodgson to kneel on the ground. A police officer used a stun gun on him multiple times.

The charges against Hodgson are expected to be dismissed at a hearing next month, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Hodgson became the visible face of the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts in Southern California in June, as one of the only unmasked agents involved in the controversial detention of U.S. citizen Walmart worker Adrian Martinez. Martinez was accused of interfering with Border Patrol agents’ attempts to detain one of his co-workers. Martinez has been charged and is awaiting trial.

Hodgson was part of a group of officers who attacked Martinez and pushed him to the ground. Although video from the scene did not show Hodgson making physical contact with Martinez, his name quickly became public as he appeared to be the only agent involved in the controversial arrest who was not wearing a mask.

According to the coroner’s report, Hodgson was supposed to meet his family at the beach the day he died, but he never showed up. His cousin went to Hodgson’s home to do a welfare check and found his body.

Hodgson’s parents told police that their son “has been depressed since being on administrative leave, but they stated that he was not suicidal and did not have any suicidal thoughts,” according to the report. His family said Hodgson previously struggled with cocaine and alcohol addiction, according to the documents. But they said Hodgson had been going to Alcoholics Anonymous for about two months, according to the medical examiner’s report.

The handwritten note found in Hodgson’s car was initially thought to be a suicide note, but was later determined to be “a character witness statement for Hodgson from June 2025,” according to the coroner’s report. The report states that Hodgson “received death threats” after his personal information was published online.

As Hodgson was processed by police officers following his arrest, body camera footage showed him dealing with stress and the fallout from having his identity publicly revealed online.

“Have you ever published your personal information on the internet and f… news?” he said. “Have you ever had people stand up at their parents’ house because you’re doing everything here in Los Angeles, dude, I’m that f*cking guy.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly claimed that its officers are facing a rise in death threats as protests against the Trump administration’s expanding immigration crackdowns escalate in major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago. Recently, the government sued California over a law aimed at banning all local and federal law enforcement from wearing masks while performing official duties in public places.

Representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Border Patrol did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Times writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.