The Leon County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a second inmate death in three days at the Leon County Detention Facility after a 26-year-old man was “found unresponsive in his cell” early Monday morning.
A correctional officer found the man, who LCSO identified as John Russo, unresponsive in his “single-cell, protective custody pod,” around 1:30 a.m., according to a news release from the law enforcement agency.
LCSO Spokesperson Shonda Knight said that he was in the cell by himself, but because it’s an open and active investigation, she can’t provide any other details, including whether there was any indication of suicide.
The LCSO Violent Crimes Unit and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are investigating the death, and “the Leon County’s Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of death,” according to the news release.
Last Friday, a woman was found unresponsive in her cell a few hours after she was “medically cleared” and transported from a local hospital to the jail.
The woman was arrested on outstanding warrants for inhaling/ingesting a harmful substance and for failure to appear for possession of a controlled substance charges, according to LCSO.
Before this death, the last reported inmate death at the jail occurred in February of last year. In that case, a 25-year-old man was pronounced dead at a local hospital after he was found unresponsive in his cell. The sheriff’s office said there we “no suspicious circumstances” associated with the death.
In 2022, three inmates hanged themselves inside the jail, the first time in 27 years that three in-custody suicides occurred within a year.
Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County Sheriff investigates second inmate death in three days