Authorities identified an inmate who was found deceased with a towel around his neck in the Greene County Detention Center on Thursday night as Jacob Lowell Smith, age 32, a suspect in a double homicide investigation in Fulton County.
Smith had been arrested in Greene County on Oct. 28th after a multi-agency search in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri.
Smith was located inside an abandoned house trailer and taken into custody by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, Paragould Police Department, Arkansas State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Smith was arrested on formal charges of absconding and was being sought as a person of interest in the deaths of two women in Ash Flat.
Authorities say Smith was discovered unresponsive in a single cell at 11:49p.m. on Nov. 13th during a security check.
Smith was discovered with a towel around his neck. Life saving measures were performed by jail staff until medics and firefighters arrived. Smith was taken to Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased.
Original release from GCSO:
Greene County Sheriff Brad Snyder releases statement on death of a inmate at the detention center in Paragould.
Inmate Found Unresponsive, Declared Deceased At Hospital; Arkansas State Police Investigating
At approximately 11:52 p.m. on November 13th, jail staff contacted 911 to advise that an unresponsive inmate had been located in their cell with a towel around their neck. The two-person cell was only occupied by the single inmate. Life-saving measures were immediately begun by detention officers, with jail medical staff and deputies also rotating through CPR until relieved by Paragould Fire and EMS. The inmate was transported to Arkansas Methodist Medical Center where they were pronounced deceased.
A timeline of events are as follows:
10:39 p.m. – Inmate was spoken to and wristband scanned at lights out / lockdown.
11:49 p.m. – Inmate was found unresponsive at next scheduled security check.
11:52 p.m. – Call for service initiated with Dispatch Center.
11:58 p.m. – Fire Department arrives on scene.
12:03 a.m. – EMS arrives on scene.
12:11 a.m. – Sheriff arrives at Detention Center.
12:22 a.m. – Jail cell is secured with evidence tape.
12:25 a.m. – Sheriff contacts Arkansas State Police to request investigator.
12:30 a.m. – EMS departs jail with inmate enroute to AMMC.
12:36 a.m. – EMS arrives at Emergency Room with inmate.
Close relatives to the inmate have been contacted by ASP as of the typing of this post (4:00 a.m.), with more to be contacted as soon as possible. Any further information to be released, or media inquiries, will be addressed by the Arkansas State Police, as they are the investigating agency in this matter.
Sheriff Brad Snyder