OKEECHOBEE — According to the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office, they are still waiting for the coroner's reports in the deaths of two county jail inmates.
On Sept 13, 2022, a female inmate, Kaitlynn Joy Barnes, 19, was found not breathing in her bunk during morning roll call checks. CPR was attempted on the inmate by detention staff and emergency services. However, she was pronounced deceased.
Barnes was in jail on charges involving child pornography and sexual acts involving animals.
The second death occurred the following day. A press release from the OCSO stated, " In the morning hours, while jail staff performed their 30-minute observation checks, Joseph Abruzzi, 60, complained of shortness of breath. Jail nursing staff quickly evaluated Abruzzi’s condition and swiftly made the decision to have Okeechobee Fire Rescue respond so Abruzzi could be transported to Raulerson Hospital to be medically treated. Upon Abruzzi being placed into the Okeechobee County Fire Rescue Ambulance, his vitals began to diminish. Okeechobee County EMS worked to save Abruzzi's life, but unfortunately, Abruzzi was declared deceased upon entering Raulerson Hospital."
Abruzzi, who had been housed alone in his cell since his arrival, was in jail on charges of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, possession of LSD with the intent to distribute, possession of MDA with the intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and DUI.
As a precaution, one of the K9 Narcotics detection teams searched Abruzzi’s housing cell. The K9 team found no presence of illegal substances.
The Criminal Investigations Division, was notified of this incident and this case is still under investigation.
At this time, there is no evidence the inmates knew each other or that their deaths are related.
In regard to the death of Barnes, Detective Ryane Ammons said he is waiting for the medical examiner's report from the autopsy before he can complete his report, but during the autopsy, there were no remarks or notable causes of death.
Sheriff Noel Stephen said toxicology results generally take six to eight weeks and the sheriff's office intends to be transparent during the investigation.
