Waukegan man swallows unknown substance, dies while in custody

A Waukegan man who ate an unknown substance died after while in police custody Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Officers went to a residence on the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue to serve a search warrant for narcotics, according to a Waukegan Police Department news release.

A man in his 30s with an active arrest warrant drove up, exited his vehicle and started to walk toward the home, police said. He ran away when detectives approached him, the news release said.

As he ran, he started to eat a white substance, according to the release. Once police caught him, he continued to chew the substance despite being told to spit it out.

The man then showed signs of distress, and paramedics took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Illinois State Police and the Lake County coroner's office are investigating. An autopsy is expected Friday.