Man Who Died in Struggle Over Beer Still Unidentified : Investigation: Autopsy to determine cause of death is inconclusive. Suspected shoplifter died in confrontation with Fullerton store customer.

FULLERTON —  A man who died in an altercation over a 12-pack of beer that he allegedly shoplifted remains unidentified and the cause of death undetermined, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

Fullerton Police Sgt. Glenn Deveney said that an autopsy on Wednesday failed to reveal what killed the man, who died in a fight with Mitchell Gohman, the customer who chased him when he allegedly walked out of a local convenience market Tuesday at noon without paying for the beer.

Deveney said that no charges have been filed in the death, and the investigation is continuing.

“Before we forward our findings to the district attorney’s office, we have to determine if the force used by Gohman to apprehend the suspect was reasonable. No decision has been made whether to file charges against anybody,” Deveney said.

Gohman, an unemployed aviation mechanic, said he was saddened by the man’s death but quickly added: “I don’t feel bad that I tried to stop him from stealing something.”

He said several officers congratulated him, calling him a hero, when he was at police headquarters for questioning.

“But I told the officers I didn’t feel like a hero,” Gohman said.

According to Gohman, he jumped in his car and went after the suspect when store owner, Yasmin Khan, yelled that he had left without paying for the beer. Gohman said he caught up with the man in the parking lot of a closed bank a block away.

“I got out of the car and told him to put the beer down and put his hands on the car. He gave me a cold, hard stare and tried to swing the 12 pack at me,” Gohman said.

Gohman got a headlock on the suspect and wrestled him to the pavement. The man never uttered a word during the altercation, Gohman said.

“I was holding his head and neck, and had my back to him. I told him if he was good and nice and waited with me for the police to arrive I’d let go. I turned to look at him and saw his lips were bluish-gray and his mouth was foaming. I didn’t realize it then, but I was talking to a dead man,” said Gohman.

When officers arrived, “they considered doing (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on him but decided to wait and let the ambulance crew do it,” Gohman said. He said it took the ambulance about an additional minute or so to arrive.

The dead man was known to patrol officers as Cipriano Martinez Vasquez and Maxamilliano Martinez. According to Deveney, police had stopped him several times in the past for questioning because he acted suspiciously.

Khan, 41, owner of K’s Market, in a shopping center at West Orangethorpe Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, where the chase began, was still shaken Wednesday by the man’s death.

“I feel really bad that he died. I feel so bad about his death,” said Khan, who has owned the store with her husband for three months.

The woman said the deceased, who appeared to live on the street, seldom had money when he came in the store. According Khan, two or three times a week the man who died and two others would brazenly go to the beer section and leave with one can of beer each without paying.

“This happened so many times, but there was nothing I could do about it because I’m always alone in the store. My husband works in Santa Monica while I manage the store in the daytime,” Khan said. “I told (the suspect) so many times that if he didn’t stop stealing from me I would call the police. But he never listened.”

Deveney said that police never received any complaints from Khan about the suspect.

“I never called the police because I didn’t want to make problems,” Khan said. “I was also afraid that the men would get angry and hurt me if I reported them to the police. They knew that I was always alone.”

Police declined to say whether the man had an arrest record, but they released a police mug shot of him. Deveney said the man had previously given officers two phony addresses, and added that police have not been able to locate his family.

“At this point, we’d be happy to learn his real name. The autopsy results listed the cause of death as inconclusive. So, we don’t know what killed him. They’re going to have to do additional tests, and I have no idea when those results will be known,” Deveney said.