WENTWORTH — For the second time in 17 days, an inmate has died at the Rockingham County Detention Facility from medical problems that were not associated with a suicide attempt or foul play, according to a news release from the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.
The death marks the 11th inmate death at the jail since February 2021.
At around 7:40 a.m. on Wednesday, a 24-year-old Danville woman collapsed from “an apparent medical emergency” while being monitored by detention center staff and medical staff, and could not be revived, despite CPR and other measures, according to the release.
The inmate, who was arrested on weapon’s charges, arrived at the jail around 4 a.m., according to the release, and was placed then in an observation cell where she was watched by detention center personnel and county medical personnel. “She showed no signs of distress before collapsing in the cell,’’ the RCSO release said.
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The sheriff’s office did not explain why the woman had been put under medical observation upon her arrival at the jail.
“I cannot comment on an inmate’s medical status,’’ said Lt. Kevin Suthard, RCSO spokesman.
Foul play is not suspected, according to the release.
At the request of Sheriff Sam Page, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been alerted to the death and will perform a follow-up investigation, standard procedure when there is any inmate death.
The sheriff’s office did not provide the name of the woman who died because the office has not yet notified the inmate’s next of kin, the release said.
On Oct. 30, another inmate at the jail died there from a ‘cardiac related medical emergency,’ according to the sheriff’s office.
State officials in 2022, prompted by a 40% increase in North Carolina county jail deaths between 2020 and 2021, researched jail protocols statewide and found systemic problems with staffing and adequate inmate monitoring at Rockingham’s jail, as well as at other county jails across the state.
Four of the 67 inmates who died in North Carolina in 2021 were housed in the Wentworth jail, three of whom had opiate-abuse histories and committed suicide by hanging in their cells, county and state medical officials’ records show.
On Oct. 30, detention officers and medical staff, along with Rockingham County EMS personnel, rendered medical assistance to the male inmate in his cell, but were unable to save him, according to the release.
The man’s name, age, charges and city of residence were not disclosed by the sheriff’s office.
“Neither suicide, nor foul play, is suspected in the inmate’s death,’’ according to the sheriff’s office.
Page requested the SBI independently investigate the Oct. 30 death.
On March 4, a female inmate died at the jail from an apparent medical emergency, the first death at the detention facility this year, according to the sheriff’s office
In 2022, three inmates of the jail died while in custody and another man died while in pre-booking and in the custody of the arresting officer prior to being turned over to the jail, Suthard said in an email.
In 2021, a fourth inmate died at the jail from complications of a bleeding ulcer, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.
The deaths were the first at the jail since 2015, according to records from NCDOC.
Built in 2010, the jail can accommodate up to 232 inmates and employs a staff of more than 50 full- and part-time officers, including two lieutenants, staff sergeants, sergeants and staff, according to the jail’s county website.