Jesse Freitas was found dead in his car in Petaluma on Sunday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tuesday.
Freitas graduated from Junipero Serra High School in 1969 and went on to play college football at San Diego State University and professionally with the San Diego Chargers for a couple of seasons.
A San Mateo native, Freitas had fallen upon hard times in recent years and much of his troubles stemmed from an ongoing battle with mental illness, the Union-Tribune reported.
In April 2014, after he was arrested for setting fire to a property in Santa Rosa, he was committed to the Atascadero State Hospital on recommendation from county health officials, who told a judge that Freitas has bipolar disorder, according to the Union-Tribune.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.