Former Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden Found Dead in San Diego Federal Building

Andrew Haden, a 48-year-old assistant U.S. attorney who twice ran the Southern District of California's federal prosecutors office on an acting basis, was found dead late Wednesday night inside the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego.

San Diego police received a report of a missing man Wednesday evening. Hours later, officers found Haden dead in a vacant office at 880 Front St., the address that houses the U.S. Attorney's Office, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

Police spokesperson Ashley Nicholes said investigators responded to the scene and that no foul play is suspected. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed it is investigating the death but has not released a cause or manner of death.

The Union-Tribune reported that a person familiar with the situation said Haden is suspected to have taken his own life. That detail has not been confirmed by police or the medical examiner, and no official determination has been made public.

U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, who now leads the Southern District, confirmed Haden's death in a statement to the Union-Tribune. "This is one of the darkest days in our office's history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden's life," Gordon said. "He was a beacon of light, full of laughter, friendship, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community."

Gordon held an all-staff meeting Thursday and followed up with an email that the Union-Tribune reviewed. He told employees he would not share further details "out of respect for Haden's wife and children."

Haden joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2010 and spent 16 years there, working in the General Crimes and Major Crimes sections before rising to chief of the Violent Crimes and Human Trafficking Section and later chief of the Criminal Division, according to the Union-Tribune and Times of San Diego. He also served as first assistant U.S. attorney, the office's second-in-command post.

He stepped into the top job on an acting basis twice: once for roughly two months in 2023, and again for another two-month stretch in 2025, both during transitions between permanent U.S. attorneys, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A San Diego native, Haden graduated from University City High School, earned a political science degree from Stanford University, then served five years in the U.S. Navy with two overseas deployments before attending law school at the University of San Diego. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan and later taught part-time as an adjunct professor at his law school alma mater.

His career drew formal recognition, including the Director's Award for Superior Performance in a Managerial or Supervisory Role from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys in 2020 and the Peter J. Mazza Outstanding Federal Lawyer Award from the San Diego chapter of the Federal Bar Association in 2024.

Southern District of California Chief Judge Cynthia Bashant told the Union-Tribune the loss extends beyond the prosecutor's office. "This tragedy is a loss for everyone: his family, the court family and the legal community," she said. "He was well loved and well respected. Frankly, words fail me."

Defense attorney Jeremy Warren, who sparred with Haden in court, including during the lengthy illegal gun-dealing trial of former sheriff's Capt. Marco Garmo and jeweler Leo Hamel, called the case against Haden "a very heavily litigated and hard-fought trial" and said the two remained friends afterward.

Haden leaves behind a wife and two school-aged children. Gordon has not disclosed further personal details, citing the family's privacy.

The medical examiner's office has not set a timeline for releasing its findings, and the official cause and manner of Haden's death had not been publicly determined as of this report.