Alaska News

Inmate dies at Anchorage jail

A 42-year-old inmate died at the Anchorage jail Saturday, the Alaska Department of Corrections said.

Charles T. Jones Jr., 42, died at 12:03 p.m., according to a release from department spokeswoman Sherrie Daigle.

Jones had been booked into the facility two days earlier on a warrant for failing to appear on a shoplifting charge.

Jones' body has been turned over to the state medical examiner, the DOC said.

Initial information from the department and Alaska State Troopers did not reveal where in the facility Jones died or if there were any indications of what killed him, though troopers did say foul play was not suspected.

Some 14 people have died in Alaska correctional facilities since the beginning of 2015, with 13 dying in jails and one in a halfway house run by a private contracter but under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

ADVERTISEMENT