Two inmates in the same Georgia county jail were found dead in their respective cells with 24 hours of each other, prompting an investigation.
Anthony Lamar Walker, 34, was found unresponsive Monday night in his cell at the DeKalb County jail, Atlanta News First reported. He had been in custody since Dec. 18 and was facing charges of charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault, the outlet stated.
Jackson Orukpete, 57, who had been in custody on battery/family violence charges since July 25, was then found unresponsive in his cell on Tuesday, the outlet reported.
The Office of Professional Standards of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has launched an internal investigation into the deaths, and Sheriff Melody Maddox has requested an external probe from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta News First reported.
The DeKalb County Sheriff has asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to probe the deaths of two inmates who died within the last 24 hours, marking the sixth and seventh inmate deaths reported this year, per @Decaturish.https://t.co/xiIQtAovig
— WABE News (@wabenews) December 28, 2022
This is not the first time the DeKalb County jail has faced an investigation due to the deaths of multiple inmates in a short span of time. In July, DeKalb County Jail had two other inmates die within the span of a week. Vernon Dennis Head, 48, died of myocardial fibrosis following emergency medical treatment on the July 22, the Tucker Observer reported. (RELATED: Government Trackers Missed A Thousand In-Custody Deaths Last Year, Report Says)
The other inmate, Nina Maureen Colman, 55, died on July 25. An investigation found that Colman died of peritonitis due to intestinal perforations, the outlet reported.
The DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the cause or manner of death for either Walker or Orukpet, pending investigation results, Atlanta News First reported.