The Leon County Sheriff's Office is asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for help in investigating after an inmate was found dead in a cell. It’s the second inmate death in under a week at the facility.
According to the sheriff's office, 26-year-old John Russo was in a single cell in the jail’s protective custody pod when he was found at 1:30 a.m. by a correctional officer. A spokesperson for the Sheriffs Department says people in protective custody usually have a history of disruptive behavior.
The jail’s website shows Russo has three charges for sexual battery of a child under 12 years old and an initial arrest in 2014 on those same charges. Russo was first released from jail in December 2017, and re-booked in February of this year for violating his probation.
The Medical Examiner’s office is doing an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. Russo is the second person to die at the jail in under a week. Last Friday, a woman was found unconscious in her cell after being medically released from a local hospital to the jail.
