COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says his agency has launched a criminal investigation after two detainees died of drug overdoses at the county jail.
The two men died on back to back days this week. Wednesday morning, Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford identified the men as 25-year-old Marty Brown of Columbia, who died Monday, and 54-year-old Lamont Powell, who died Tuesday.
Lott said Brown died from a drug that's similar to Fentanyl called Pentazocine, while Powell died of fentanyl. He said his department's forensic lab was able to quickly determine what kind of drugs the men took.
Brown, of Columbia, was found dead and alone in his cell on Monday after Richland County Sheriff's (RCSD) deputies responded to a call by jail officials. On Tuesday, July 23, jail officials found Powell unresponsive in one of the jail's open housing units around 1:29 p.m.
The detention center was put on lockdown and the Richland County Sheriff's Department was called to the jail to investigate.
Tuesday night, Lott said his deputies and K9 officers swept the jail looking for other drugs. They didn't find any, but a short time after they left, a third detainee overdosed. That person did survive.
Richland County Coroner’s Office is assisting in the investigations. Jail officials said they are also conducting an internal investigation to determine what they say are "any potential sources contributing to recent incidents."
Lott said at this point it's clear the drugs were smuggled into the jail but it's not clear who might have done it.
"They're being smuggled in by either inmates or people who work there at Alvin S. Glenn. There's not a little magician that pops them in there. Somebody has to bring them physically in."
These latest deaths are the second and third this month at the jail. Back on July 9 56-year-old Robert L Moore of Columbia was discovered unresponsive in his cell by a detention center nurse during a medical pass.
At this point, RCSD is investigating the deaths as "suspicious," which is a term used when no one observed the person die. It does not mean there is an indication of foul play at this time.