By Greg Welter
Chico Enterprise-Record
CHICO, Calif. — A Glenn County sheriff’s deputy died Wednesday night after falling unconscious at his north Chico home.
Mark Louis Arnone, 36, had been a deputy for 10 years and also worked as a weekend and fill-in disc jockey at rock and country stations owned by Deer Creek Broadcasting.
Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones said Arnone was discovered unresponsive inside his north Chico home by a relative, who called 9-1-1.
According to dispatch reports, the call came in at about 10:30 p.m.
Medics reportedly administered life-saving efforts at Arnone’s McKinley Lane home, and in an ambulance on the way to Enloe Medical Center.
He couldn’t be revived and was pronounced dead at 11:14 p.m.
An autopsy is pending to determine the cause of death. Butte County sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Hail said a toxicology test has also been ordered.
Jones said he received reports Arnone may have consumed a few beers on Wednesday night. Hail said a preliminary coroner’s report mentions nothing about Arnone being intoxicated, however.
Arnone was scheduled for shoulder surgery today at Enloe, and Jones said it’s possible he was on pain medications, or pre-operative medications, at the time of his death. Jones said foul play has been ruled out as a factor in his death.
Arnone was working as a court security officer when he was injured on the job, Jones said.
The deputy received a laceration which required him to get a tetanus shot. Jones said Arnone contended the needle from
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the shot had precipitated a shoulder condition.
Jones said Arnone was in therapy for the injury, but it wasn’t getting any better.
After consulting with doctors, Jones said Arnone decided to have surgery.
Arnone’s wife, Margarita, works for the Glenn County Department of Child Support Services. She was in Southern California attending in-service training when she was informed of her husband’s death. She flew back to Chico Thursday morning.
Jones said the Arnones have no children.
Deer Creek General Manager Dino Corbin said Arnone was known as “Mark in the Dark” when he hosted a late-night program for another broadcasting company in Chico. At Deer Creek stations he simply went by Mark Arnone. Corbin called him a consummate broadcasting professional, who will be missed by the company and his fans.
Hail said he couldn’t comment further on the cause of Arnone’s death. “The toxicology report will probably tell us everything we need to know,” he said.
Arnone started his career in law enforcement as a correctional officer and in 2006 became a sheriff’s deputy. He was assigned to patrol duties and later to court security, where he was instrumental in establishing security protocols for the Glenn County Superior Court, Jones said.
He gradated from the law enforcement academy at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, and later completed a Peace Officer Standards and Training program.
“Deputy Arnone has been an enthusiastic law enforcement professional, taking on added responsibility when asked to do so,” Jones said in a statement. “Those in the Glenn County law enforcement family are shocked at his passing. He will be sorely missed.”
Arnone is a native of San Jose.
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