Preliminary autopsy in North Carolina inmate death finds no obvious cause or trauma

Jail tile
Jail tile

Preliminary findings released Friday from an autopsy of a 30-year-old man who died in custody last week at the Cherokee County, North Carolina, Detention Center indicated "no obvious cause of death and they did not find any obvious trauma," officials said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

On July 11, 30-year-old Joshua Shane Long was arrested by Cherokee County Sheriff's Office deputies after they responded to a call reporting "an individual that was acting irrational," Sheriff Derrick Palmer stated in the initial release.

Long was charged with resisting a public officer, simple possession of schedule VI controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia and was jailed on a $1,000 secure bond, processed and placed in a cell.

At 11:12 p.m. detention officers observed Long conscious and alert as they made their rounds, Palmer said. At 11:14 p.m., officers found Long unresponsive in his cell and began life-saving measures that continued until they were relieved by paramedics from Cherokee County EMS, Palmer said Wednesday in a update on the incident.

Long was flown to a Tennessee hospital where he was pronounced dead.

As required by North Carolina law, detention staff contacted the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the District Attorney's Office, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Palmer said.

An autopsy was performed July 13 by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and a preliminary verbal report was given to Cherokee County Sheriff's Office staff stating that there was no obvious cause of death and no obvious trauma to Long. A toxicology analysis is now under way, he said.

State investigators are now interviewing witnesses, reviewing jail video surveillance tapes and reviewing officer's reports, officials said. Anyone with information regarding the death of Mr. Long are urged to contact the State Bureau of Investigation immediately.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased," Palmer said. "We are cooperating fully with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and will continue to do so."

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