21-year-old found dead in county jail

Area News

October 23, 2008

Officials await autopsy, drug screen

By Michael R. Moser / mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com The Crossville Chronicle Thu Oct 23, 2008, 03:31 PM CDT

A Putnam County man arrested on a drug charge Monday afternoon was found dead in the Cumberland County Justice Center hours later and officials are awaiting results of an autopsy and drug screen before assigning a cause of death.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Department released a report concerning the incident Thursday. Sources close to the investigation stated this week there was no sign of foul play and that all procedures regarding inmates had been followed.

The dead man was identified as Erick Charles Reed, 21, Crawford, who had been arrested on charges of possession of a schedule II drug (methadone) and public intoxication. He was being held in lieu of $2,500 and his cases were scheduled to be heard Nov. 3 in General Sessions Court.

According to an arrest report, Deputies Jeff Turner and James Phipps responded to a report of a vehicle being driven erratically on Hwy. 70 N. The deputies found a 1991 Mazda Miata parked at the Cove Market and observed Reed walking toward the vehicle.

The officers approached Reed and after speaking to the man decided his speech was slurred enough to administer a field sobriety test, which Reed could not perform. Reed was then placed under arrest and put in the back seat of the deputy's patrol car for transport to the county jail.

Upon arrival at the county jail, five pills identified as methadone were recovered from the back seat of the patrol car where Reed had been sitting.

Deputies found Denver M. Garrett Jr., 50, 309 Wilder Ave., Monterey, exiting the store about the same time and took him into custody on the public drunk charge as well. Upon arrival at the Justice Center, a caplet was found in the suspect's pants pocket and he was additionally charged with possession of a legend drug (amoxicillin).

Both suspects were booked into the county jail around 2 p.m.

Reed was placed in what is called the "drunk tank" with two other inmates and was checked periodically during the day and evening, as well as being observed over jail monitoring cameras.

When corrections officers checked on the drunk tank inmates at 1 a.m., they discovered Reed was not breathing. Paramedics were called to the scene and life-saving measures started without success and Reed was declared dead in his cell.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called to investigate the death and the body was sent to the state Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy and drug screen in an effort to identify the cause of death.

"The investigation is continuing," Sheriff Butch Burgess stated in the release. "Foul play is not suspected." A classification of the death will not be made until the medical examiner's reports are completed and issued.

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