Inmate charged with child molestation was ‘in distress’ before dying, Georgia cops say
An inmate at a jail near Atlanta died in custody Friday, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office said.
Denver Charles Perkins was being held in the Spalding County Jail on charges of child molestation and aggravated sexual battery, according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff’s Office. The jail is in Griffin, less than 40 miles south of Atlanta.
Deputies said they learned the 44-year-old was “in distress” around 2 p.m., and “immediately responded and administered aid,” until Spalding Fire and EMS arrived at the jail and transported Perkins to an area hospital, the sheriff’s office said in the post.
Perkins was pronounced dead by hospital staff, according to the post.
There is no word on the cause of Perkins’ death.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into Perkins’ death and has been to the jail, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office disputed claims that deputies failed to respond to Perkins in a timely manner.
“Misinformation has been posted on social media regarding the time that the first inmate called for help to the deputies’ response,” said Sheriff Darrell Dix in the Facebook post. “The deputies’ response time was less than one minute. This has been verified by video.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2019 at 6:48 PM.
