Delaware inmate dies of apparent overdose in prison

A Delaware prison inmate has died of an apparent drug overdose after he and another offender were found unresponsive at the state’s maximum-security prison, authorities said Thursday.

Travis M. Jones from Newark and the other inmate, both 35, were found unresponsive Monday night in their housing unit at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Department of Correction officials said.

DOC officials said prison staff began CPR and administered Naloxone, a drug that can counteract the effects of an opioid overdose, before Kent County Emergency Medical Services arrived and transported both inmates to Bayhealth Hospital in Dover.

Jones was admitted in critical condition and was pronounced dead on Wednesday evening, officials said. The other inmate has been discharged from the hospital and returned to the prison.

Jones had been in DOC custody since 2013 and was serving a 60-year sentence for three counts of manslaughter involving the deaths of his girlfriend and two children in a 2010 fire at their home in Delaware City.

Officials have not said how the drugs got into the prison.

"The DOC takes the introduction of contraband into our system very seriously and are aggressively investigating this matter and will take appropriate action," DOC spokesman Paul Shavack said in an email.

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