Sheriff: 28-year-old inmate dies at Forsyth County Jail after ingesting drugs
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called to investigate the death of an inmate at the Forsyth County Jail in November.
Officials say at around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 20, deputies responded to a holding cell for an unresponsive inmate.
The inmate, identified as 28-year-old Melissa Ponce, had been arrested on suspicion of DUI less than 3 hours earlier. At around 6 a.m., officials say she was served breakfast by deputies and showed no signs of needing medical attention.
Nurses and deputies attempted life-saving measures and administered a dose of Narcan, but Ponce was pronounced dead in the holding cell.
Investigators believe Ponce ingested an illegal narcotic before being incarcerated. Her body has been transported to the GBI Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
This is the second inmate death at the jail in November. On Nov. 13, 63-year-old Rhett Anderson was pronounced dead while he was being housed in the jail's medical unit on detox protocols after being arrested on a warrant for failure to appear on a probation violation.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.