Ramsey County medical examiners confirmed the cause of death for former College of Liberal Arts Student Board president Chris Pomarico.

Pomarico, 26, died of natural causes, medical examiner Don Gorie said.

Gorie said examiners found a blood clot in one of Pomarico’s coronary arteries that ultimately led to his death.

Evelyn Pomarico, Chris Pomarico’s mother, said she expected it was a heart condition that killed her son.

There was a family history of heart problems in the Pomarico family before Chris Pomarico’s death. Evelyn Pomarico said her father also had a massive heart attack.

Pomarico died Nov. 25 at his apartment in St. Paul’s Como Park neighborhood, and was found by his roommate Steve Anderson and two other friends.

Anderson said Pomarico felt dizzy and faint when he came home early from his job. About five hours later, Anderson found him dead in their apartment.

Evelyn Pomarico said she didn’t think her son had gone to see a doctor, but that he had been taking aspirin for persistent headaches and antacids for heartburn.

Heart disease in someone of Pomarico’s age isn’t common, Gorie said, but it isn’t unprecedented.

Wilson Library attacker sentenced for unrelated ’06 crime

The New Brighton man accused of imprisoning a female graduate student in Wilson Library Oct. 1 was sentenced Tuesday for an unrelated crime from 2006.

Matthew Pengra, 35, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court by Judge Mark Wernick on fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charges.

He was sentenced to 39 months in prison and was given credit for 218 days he had already served for other crimes.

The judge also ordered that Pengra submit a DNA sample to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to be kept on file for future offenses.

He also has to register as a predatory offender for the rest of his life.

When his sentence has been served, he will be on conditional release for 10 years. Those conditions will be set once he is released from prison.

Charges from the Wilson Library attack and another criminal sexual conduct case from 2006 were dismissed when Pengra agreed to plead guilty to these charges.

Pengra is currently a Level 2 sex offender and was banned from all University property when he attempted to assault a woman in Wilson Library in October. Sex offenders can be classified as Level 1, 2 or 3, with 3 being most serious.

The Department of Corrections will redetermine Pengra’s classification when he is released from prison.

Pengra was also charged in July 2006 with molesting a woman when he attacked her in University Village apartments.