Spring Creek prison inmate dies in apparent suicide

An inmate at the Spring Creek prison in Seward died an hour after he was discovered unresponsive in his cell Monday night, the Alaska Department of Corrections said.

Antonio Roberson, 38, was pronounced dead at Providence Seward Medical Center at 9:52 p.m., according to DOC spokeswoman Megan Edge.

An on-duty corrections officer discovered Roberson in his cell at Spring Creek Correctional Center during a routine security check around 8:50 p.m., Edge said.

"It appears, in the initial investigation, that Mr. Roberson committed suicide," Edge said in an email. "The investigation is still ongoing."

Roberson was in the cell by himself. Edge said officials were reviewing when he was last checked on.

The routine security checks noted in the statement about the Roberson's death occur every 30 minutes, Edge said.

Lifesaving measures were attempted immediately, Edge said, and then Roberson was taken to the medical center.

Roberson has been in custody since 2002, according to DOC. He was serving a sentence for a murder conviction.

Roberson was charged with first-degree murder in March of that year for the stabbing death of a Spenard restaurant owner during an attempted carjacking, according to an Anchorage Daily News article.

Roberson is the fourth inmate to die in the custody of state corrections this year. His death, like all other DOC deaths, will be investigated by an internal unit, Alaska State Troopers and the State Medical Examiner Office.

The previous DOC death happened in June. Arlo Olson, 40, died at a hospital after attempting to take his own life at the Fairbanks Correctional Center.

Correction: The above story previously stated routine security checks at the prison occur every 45 minutes. The checks occur every half-hour.