Sedgwick County sheriff: Inmate, 24, appears to have died from medical condition

A 24-year-old inmate found not breathing in his Sedgwick County Jail cell Tuesday appears to have died from a medical condition, Sheriff Jeff Easter said Wednesday.

The last time jail staff members spoke with the inmate was about an hour and 25 minutes before he was found on his cell floor, Easter said. Although the inmate had complained the day before that he felt dizzy and went to the jail clinic hours before he collapsed, his vital signs were normal, and he was returned to his cell, Easter said. The inmate had a medical condition and had medication for it in his cell, the sheriff said.

Although the jail still has 40 open deputy positions, staffing has improved, and some deaths can’t be prevented, Easter said. People with medical issues go to jail, he said, “and we’re not going to be there every minute of the day to see if someone collapses.”

Easter wouldn’t give the inmate’s name, saying the man’s family asked that it not be released. But a family member told The Eagle on Tuesday that the inmate who died is Antonio Bell. The Eagle also confirmed the name through other sources.

Bell had been in jail since Sept. 30, 2013. He was facing two trials: one this coming Monday on an aggravated battery charge in the November beating of a fellow inmate, and the other March 7 on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Deandre Freeman Jr. Freeman, 23, was shot in the head and his body was found in a ditch near Kechi in September 2013. The sheriff’s office said Bell and Freeman were documented gang members.

In a phone interview with The Eagle on Wednesday, Easter said of the death: “We don’t find anything suspicious. There are no injuries.”

At a briefing for reporters later Wednesday, Easter gave this account: On Monday, Bell signed up for a sick call, complaining of feeling dizzy. At 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, he went to the clinic for a regular check. His vital signs and testing were normal, and he was placed back in his locked cell sometime after 6 a.m.

A review of jail video indicates nothing suspicious and shows the inmate had no physical contact with others after returning to his cell, the sheriff said.

There was no indication the inmate was calling for help while in his cell, Easter said.

Bell’s family wouldn’t comment when contacted Wednesday afternoon.

At 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Easter’s account, a deputy spoke with Bell by intercom and told him he could go to the law library if he wanted to prepare for his case. Bell answered and acknowledged the deputy but never went to the library.

In the higher-security pod where Bell was locked into a cell, there is a deputy who sits in a control booth encased for the deputy’s safety. A separate “rover” is supposed to check on each inmate once every two hours, and a check was made on Bell within that interval, Easter said.

Although the jail still has a shortage of deputies and still has 40 openings over three shifts, the situation has improved from five to six months ago, when the jail was down more than 60 positions, Easter said.

Bell had a medical condition and had medicine for it in his cell, but Easter said he couldn’t go into detail about the medical issues because the inmate’s personal records can’t be divulged.

At 10:15 a.m., the “rover” doing rounds found Bell face down on the floor of his cell and not breathing. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was begun immediately, and resuscitation efforts by fire and EMS crews failed to revive Bell, who was “pulseless” for almost 30 minutes and pronounced dead at the jail, Easter said.

Easter said Wednesday that he didn’t know the autopsy results. Although some autopsy information will be available in the next couple of weeks, the full autopsy report on the inmate won’t be available for at least six months, he said.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Sedgwick County sheriff: Inmate, 24, appears to have died from medical condition."