At approximately 4:45 am CDT on July 20, 2024, Lee County Sheriff Corrections Deputies were conducting cell checks and serving breakfast when they discovered a male inmate (39 YOA) unresponsive in his cell. Opelika Fire and Rescue and ETS medical responded and despite lifesaving efforts, the inmate was pronounced deceased at 5:10 am/CDT. There did not appear to be any signs of trauma on the initial view of the inmate.
The inmate, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was booked into the Lee County Detention Facility on July 17, 2024, on four (4) Failure to appear warrants involving charges of domestic violence, misdemeanor drug possession and two (2) traffic violations.
Standard policy mandates that an outside agency conduct the investigation and at the request of Sheriff Jones, Russell County Sheriffs' investigators have assumed primary investigation responsibilities. The inmate is being transported to the Department of Forensic Sciences for a postmortem examination. Once completed, the results of the investigation will be submitted to the Lee County District Attorney for Grand Jury review.
