Inmate dies at Allegheny County Jail during 'medical emergency'
An incarcerated person died Monday at the Allegheny County Jail.
The 38-year-old man died after housing-unit staff called a medical emergency around 10 a.m., jail Warden Trevor Wingard said in a prepared statement.
Staff members performed lifesaving measures on the man until paramedics arrived at 10:22 a.m., Wingard said. The man was pronounced dead at 10:38 a.m.
Jail officials did not identify the man. They said they have spoken with his family.
No information has been made public yet about the cause or manner of the man’s death.
Wingard referred questions to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, whose spokeswoman did not return a phone call or email Monday seeking comment.
Jesse Geleynse, a jail spokesman, declined comment.
The jail will conduct “an internal review” of the incident, which Wingard called standard practice.
Allegheny County Police have initiated an investigation.
Jim Madalinsky, a police spokesman, told TribLive an investigation is “standard procedure” after a jail death. He declined further comment.
The man arrived at the Second Avenue jail Oct. 1 on harassment charges, Wingard said. While being held at the jail, he was sentenced for two restraining-order violations, authorities said.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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