Investigation into death of Macomb Co. man found in HVAC system now completed

Clinton Township — The Macomb Community College Police Department has completed its investigation into the death of a 36-year-old Clinton Township man who was found in the college's ventilation system last November, as the medical examiner confirmed that the death was accidental.

College spokesperson Jeanne Nicol said the medical examiner's final report on the death of Jason Thompson showed both fentanyl and methamphetamines in his system. The report confirmed the examiner's preliminary finding last November of an accidental death "caused by asphyxia due to entrapment and environmental suffocation," Nicol said.

She said the case closed Monday, and no further action is being taken.

Thompson's body was found Nov. 26 in an inaccessible HVAC room at Macomb Community College's Macomb Center for the Performing Arts on M-59 and Garfield. MCC said that he had entered the building's ventilation system from the roof and kept "breaking through barriers and burrowing deeper into the HVAC system."

Thompson was last seen at his sister’s residence on Oct. 25, but she didn’t report him missing until Nov. 1, said Mario Bastianelli, public information officer for the Sterling Heights Police Department, in December. She later told a Sterling Heights detective that Thompson had told loved ones that he was running from the police and was on top of a building at MCC.  

During her conversations with the detective, the sister said Thompson had substance abuse issues and, according to his girlfriend, had recently been hallucinating.

His autopsy was conducted by the Oakland County Medical Examiner, who was acting as Macomb's interim medical examiner at the time. The examiner found that Thompson asphyxiated after he became trapped in the HVAC system.

Nicol said Monday that the medical examiner was unable to provide a date for Thompson's death. She also said that Michigan State Police's forensic search of Thompson's phone didn't provide any useful information for investigative purposes ― "most of it was encrypted and unretrievable," she said.

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