EVERETT — An inmate died from an unknown cause Monday at the Snohomish County Jail.
Around 3 p.m., a nurse and corrections deputy checked on a 51-year-old man in his single-occupancy cell in the jail’s medical detox unit, where staff monitors inmates with drug or alcohol addictions.
Staff called 911 to “further evaluate the male,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Courtney O’Keefe said. As Everett firefighters arrived at the scene, the man became unresponsive. Firefighters began lifesaving measures, O’Keefe said. The man died in his cell.
The inmate had been booked into the jail Friday for investigation of a protection order violation, according to the sheriff’s office.
The man is the fifth inmate to die in the jail since September. Of the five, three were in the detox unit.
In early September, jail staff conducted a routine check on Jonathan Reilly, 38, who was under medical detox watch. He reportedly refused the check. About 22 minutes later, Reilly became unresponsive. He died of heart disease and complications from drug abuse, according to the medical examiner’s office.
The day after Reilly died, deputies booked Andrey Biruk into the jail for investigation of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and residential burglary. Corrections staff also placed Biruk, 42, in the medical detox unit. Three days later, he died. Testing showed methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine in his system. The medical examiner determined Biruk succumbed to peritonitis, or inflammation of the stomach lining, often caused by a burst appendix.
On Oct. 25, a corrections deputy was serving lunch and noticed David Koeppen, 38, unresponsive in his cell. The Florida man was being held on charges of first-degree murder in connection with a shooting in Granite Falls. After 30 minutes of lifesaving measures, Koeppen was pronounced dead. The medical examiner determined he died of a fentanyl overdose.
On Jan. 15, a corrections deputy went to serve lunch to Brendon Tesch, 36, in his cell. He was in jail for investigation of second-degree assault and nonviolent offenses. The deputy noticed the man was unresponsive. Medical staff tried lifesaving measures and administered Narcan, but Tesch died at the scene. The medical examiner’s office determined he also died of a fentanyl overdose.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of the latest death, as well as the identity of the deceased.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.
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