GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Several inmates in the Marshall County Jail were sent to the hospital after ingesting drugs on Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office.
According to a press release from Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims, corrections officers found the first two inmates around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14. Officials say one of the inmates was unresponsive and officers began CPR and administered NARCAN.
Emergency crews arrived and both inmates were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Around 6 p.m., deputies and corrections officers conducted a “shakedown” or search of the jail block. At that time, another inmate started experiencing a medical emergency. That inmate, along with his cellmate, was taken to the emergency room for observation.
Nothing was ultimately found during the search, though the incident remains under investigation.
Sims stated he believed both medical emergencies were a result of ingesting drugs, specifically cocaine laced with fentanyl brought in by an inmate from another agency.
Officials said the drugs believed to be hidden by that inmate were not found during the booking process.
“We have taken every precaution to keep things from getting in the jail,” Sims said. “From buying a body scanner to re-enforcing the jail windows along with physical searches, sometimes something as small as 1/4 gram of dope can be missed.”
“This individual was brought to us by another agency, who had searched him while in their jail and then searched by us,” Sims continued. “It was small enough that it was missed both times.”
Sims said despite chatter on Facebook, no inmates died during either incident at the jail.
“I don’t understand why someone would want to make a false statement that caused a lot of people to panic,” Sims stated. “We are pursuing possible charges against the individual responsible for the post both criminally and civil. This is wrong and should not have happened.”
Sims noted that all inmates were responsive when they left the facility to be transported to the ER and there were no deaths at the jail.
