Opioids involved in latest death of inmate held at Richland County jail, sheriff says

A man who was being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center was recently taken to an area hospital where he died Sunday morning, according to Richland County officials. This is the fourth time in July that an inmate who was being held at the Richland County jail has died.

In a news release, officials said that the Richland County Coroner’s Office has been notified about the most recent inmate death, but that office has not released a cause of death.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said opioids were involved in the death.

On Monday, 71-year-old Columbia resident Roderick Samuels was identified as the inmate, according to Coroner Naida Rutherford.

Richland County government officials said Samuels was arrested and booked into the jail in Columbia on July 22 on charges of possession with intent to distribute, according to the release.

Samuels’ bond was set at $15,000, Richland County court records show.

On July 25, Samuels was taken from the jail to Prisma Health Richland hospital because of an medical emergency, officials said. Further information about the medical emergency was not available.

At about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center staff was informed that Samuels was acutely ill and had gone into cardiac arrest, according to the release.

“Despite the efforts of the hospital medical staff, the detainee was pronounced deceased in the early morning hours of July 28,” officials said.

Lott said the sheriff’s department was not notified about the situation until after the death, when it was contacted by the coroner’s office.

“This is another unfortunate incident that involves opioids that we were made aware after the inmate had died,” Lott said in a statement. “The Richland County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a full investigation.”

With Samuels’ death, 24 people being held at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center have either died at the jail or after being taken to an area hospital in the past 10 years.

Nine of those inmates have died since January 2023, and four died 19 days apart this month — two last week from overdoses of drugs that Lott said were smuggled in “by either inmates or people who work there.”

Marty J. Brown, 25, and Lamont Powell, 54, were found dead in their cells on July 22 and 23, respectively, after overdosing — Brown on fentanyl and Powell on pentazocine, a highly addictive pain medication, according to Lott. A third inmate, who was not identified, also overdosed on fentanyl Tuesday, but survived, Lott said.

The jail is managed by the Richland County government, not the sheriff’s department.

The Richland County jail has drawn criticism for years because of deaths, violence, poor conditions and understaffing. In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it was opening an investigation into whether conditions at the jail violated inmate’s civil rights.

For their part, the Richland County administrators maintain that they are continuing to make progress on improving conditions at the jail.

This story was originally published July 28, 2024 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Opioids involved in latest death of inmate held at Richland County jail, sheriff says."

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription