Two inmates at Silverdale Detention Center have died of COVID-19 in less than two weeks.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office announced late Monday that 31-year-old Charles Leveda Shelton had died of apparent complications from COVID-19 while at a local hospital.
"Because this is considered an in-custody death, the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office has requested the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division to conduct an investigation," a Monday release said.
Shelton, who was facing the death penalty for his alleged involvement in the 2016 killing of 26-year-old Bianca Horton, was the second young inmate to die in recent days.
Morghan Jean Elmore, 30, died of the virus on Aug. 30 while pregnant and in the county's custody. Elmore was arrested Aug. 13 on drug charges and taken to the hospital on Aug. 21. She gave birth to a child before dying in the hospital, according to the county.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County inmate dies of COVID-19)
As of Thursday, three inmates - including Elmore - had died in Hamilton County's custody in 2021.
"Only [one] death at this time has been attributed to COVID, however the investigations are still pending," sheriff's office spokesperson Matt Lea told the Times Free Press last week.
At the time, Lea said there were eight inmates under quarantine with positive COVID-19 test results, and 43 total inmates had tested positive this year.
The sheriff's office was unable to update those numbers or provide specific testing, vaccination, social distancing, quarantine or treatment protocols by late Tuesday, but issued the following statement:
"The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division is going to great lengths to follow CDC guidelines and sanitize the Silverdale Detention Center on a consistent basis," Public Information Officer Rachel Frizzell said by email Tuesday.
"The Sheriff's Office is continuing to work with health department personnel and our contract in-house medical provider, QCHC [Quality Correctional Health Care], to safeguard the health of our inmates and personnel due to COVID-19.
"In addition to following CDC and health department protocols, masks and cleaning supplies are available to inmates as requested. Our contract, in-house medical provider QCHC also provides the COVID vaccine to inmates who wish to receive it. Lastly, we are also isolating and quarantining inmates who have been exposed or test positive."
Last year, inmates raised concerns with COVID precautions - or an alleged lack thereof - at the facility, which was owned by the county but operated by private prison company CoreCivic at the time.
Shelton was one of three men accused of killing Horton to prevent her from testifying against fellow gang member Cortez Sims, who was accused of shooting Horton's daughter and killing another woman, 20-year-old Talitha Bowman. Sims was convicted of Bowman's murder in 2017.
Also facing the death penalty in the Horton killing are Andre Grier and Courtney High.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.