Alexandria jail inmate dies after medical emergency in cell

A 39-year-old man died in custody at the Alexandria jail on Monday after an apparent medical emergency, according to officials.

Ahntais Lucas of Fairfax County had been detained since Aug. 20, when he was arrested on charges of drug possession, assault and fleeing from law enforcement. Alexandria police are conducting a death investigation, officials said.

A spokesperson for the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office, which runs the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, said a deputy found Lucas unresponsive in his cell and “experiencing an apparent medical emergency” just before 4 a.m.

“A deputy immediately called for assistance from the jail’s medical staff, and both began lifesaving measures,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Medics from the Alexandria Fire Department responded and continued treatment, but the patient was pronounced deceased at 4:42 a.m.”

Advertisement

The sheriff’s office declined to release details of any medical treatment Lucas may have received at the jail previously, citing privacy concerns. Megan Thomas, a public defender for Lucas, said she was surprised and saddened by the death but had no more information than what the sheriff’s office had released.

Lucas’s death followed that of 33-year-old Glenn W. Eubanks III, who died at the jail June 4 of an unspecified medical emergency, according to authorities. He had been in custody since April 12. Eubanks’s death was the only one at the facility in 2023, said Amy Bertsch, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLGkecydZK%2BZX2d9c4COaWloamZkrq2x15qlnaqZlnqrrcilZKKmnZbBpnnDnpitoF8%3D