The "Storage Wars" reality television star Mark Balelo is alleged to have committed suicide after an arrest for suspicion of possession of methamphetamine, according to Fox News. But an autopsy to be conducted on Tuesday by the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office will determine if carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death in the "Rico Suave" death investigation case.
According to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office "We begin by taking initial reports of death from reporting parties, such as police..." Medical examiner investigators take the reports and then they determine if the death falls under their jurisdiction (the former "Storage Wars" reality show participants did), and if the case warrants investigation. That investigation can include an autopsy and more, such as toxicology screens.
Medical examiner offices are staffed with death case investigators much like detectives in a police department. It is these death investigators' jobs to look at all details about someone being autopsied. This is done in order to assist the ME in determining if foul play was involved in any death.
Allegedly, the A&E reality show star was said to have committed suicide. And carbon monoxide poisoning is one way that is achieved.
Balelo was scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Feb. 19 in regards to a methamphetamine arrest according to VCstar.com. He was arrested on Saturday at his place of business located at Runway Street in Simi Valley, Calif.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Department inmate booking records revealed that Mark, who was born on Jan. 31, 1973 was 40 years old at the time of his Feb. 9 arrest, was 6-feet, 2-inches tall and weighed 220 pounds.
Balelo's Ventura County Superior Court case number was 2013004567, and the police report number in the case was 13-5858. And the booking number was 1294098.
RadarOnline.com reported back in December that Balelo had a prior drug arrest and conviction on his criminal record according to the Daily Mail. In 2009 he pleaded guilty to a felony charge for sale or transport of a controlled substance, and he was sentenced to 60 days in jail, and the reality show star was given three years of probation.
The "Storage Wars" participant violated that probation in 2011, when he transported a gun he says he found in a storage unit he had purchased and was liquidating. Balelo was sent to do 45 days in jail as a result.
The recent arrest for possession of an illegal substance would have been the second felony drug conviction for "Rico Suave" if found guilty, and as a second offense he could have served serious time in prison. That could have motivated him to seek to end his own life in a suicide.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office will determine from evidence gathered during the autopsy, as well as death scene photos and other information about the victim, whether the A&E reality show participant was the victim of foul play, a drug overdose or carbon monoxide poisoning.
The A&E reality show participant was so unnerved by that possibility it is reported by numerous sources that he asked his girlfriend to meet with him at his office, and that he mentioned the possibility of harming himself.
Mark Balelo eventually rested and awakened feeling better after a four-hour nap following his arrest according to TMZ, which made his girlfriend believe it was okay to leave him by himself on Sunday. However, his body was found Monday in his car at his auction house garage in Simi Valley, Calif. And it is being alleged that he committed suicide.
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