DeKalb County Jail inmate died of heroin intoxication

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The death of an inmate at the DeKalb County Jail in February was caused by heroin intoxication and no charges will be filed against jail staff, the sheriff’s office announced Thursday.

Brandon Washington, 28, was found unresponsive in his cell with labored and very shallow breath at 1:48 a.m. Feb. 8, according to a statement from sheriff’s office.

Deputies performed CPR until an ambulance arrived to take him to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb, where he was pronounced dead at 2:34 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

An autopsy found Washington died of heroin intoxication, according to the statement. He ingested the drug while incarcerated.

The sheriff’s office investigation into how and when the drugs got into the jail is ongoing.

Washington was sent to the the jail from the Illinois Department of Corrections on Nov. 3, 2015, according to the sheriff’s office. He was convicted of attempted first-degree murder in 2009.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack said in a letter to Illinois State Police, who conducted the independent investigation into Washington’s death, that no charges are warranted against any employees of the jail.

“The sheriff extends his sympathy to the family and friends of Brandon Washington,” Sheriff Roger Scott said in earlier statement.