In the last four months, Issaquah City Jail has reported two deaths of in-custody inmates. One inmate was found deceased on June 9 and the other on Sept. 16.
The Independent Force Investigation Team of King County — a team of investigators from 13 King County law enforcement agencies — is covering both cases.
The inmate, Kevin Wiley, who died on June 9 was found unresponsive in his bed by his cellmates. Employees performed lifesaving measures, but were unsuccessful. The time of death was estimated to be 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., according to the investigation team.
According to a media release by the Bellevue Police Department, the 43-year-old man was booked into Issaquah City Jail on June 7 around 2:45 p.m.
The Independent Force Investigation Team of King County sent an updated press release on Sept. 21 to further explain the cause of death.
“They [the King County medical examiner] have identified the cause of death as acute combined drug intoxication. An underlying medical issue is considered contributory. The manner of death has been deemed an accident,” according to the investigation team.
Preliminary tests showed the presence of methamphetamine and fentanyl. There were no signs of external injuries when conducting the autopsy, according to the team.
The inmate, David McGrath, who died on Sept. 16 was found by Issaquah City Jail employees when they were preparing to release the 48-year-old man on medical furlough, which is a medical release allowing an inmate to receive treatment before returning to jail, according to an Issaquah Police Department Facebook post.
Eastside Fire intended to transport the inmate to a medical facility, but when employees went inside the cell, they found the inmate unresponsive. Employees performed lifesaving measures, but were unsuccessful.
Issaquah Police Chief Paula Schwan wrote in an email they are still waiting on the medical examiner records to determine the cause and manner of death.
This is the second and third death within Issaquah City Jail since its inception in 2000, according to Issaquah City Jail documents.
The first death reported at the city jail was in 2017 when a 50-year-old man named Spencer Goodwin died in the prebooked area of the jail.
“He was not booked into our jail but was being held on a court commitment waiting for him to provide a urine sample. Once the sample was provided, he was to be released,” said Police Records Specialist Natalia Bebenek in an email. “Prior to providing the sample, he passed away. Though Goodwin’s death occurred while temporarily in our jail, it is not considered as a reportable death by DOJ guidelines because he was not an inmate at the time.”
