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Yellowstone Co. jail inmate dies in hospital after found unresponsive in cell

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Posted at 2:30 PM, Jan 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-11 16:30:09-05

BILLINGS — An inmate at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility died at a Billings hospital after he was found unresponsive in a cell.

Sheriff Mike Linder said the 54-year-old male inmate was discovered unresponsive shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday.

A second inmate in the cell had noticed the man was not moving and notified jail staff, Linder said in a press release issued Monday afternoon.

Detention officers immediately began CPR and the man was taken to the hospital by a medical unit, Linder said.

Sheriff's office officials were told the man had a pulse when he was taken from the jail, but he died Sunday afternoon.

Linder said an investigation by deputies revealed no evidence the man was assaulted or of any other foul play, and there was also no evidence the man had somehow taken his own life.

An autopsy Monday morning confirmed no obvious signs of foul play, but Linder did not release a preliminary cause of death if one was determined.

Linder said officials will wait for the results of toxicology reports, which could take up to three months, before making a determination on the cause or manner of the man's death.

The man's name was not released.