Death Of Jail Inmate Ruled An Accident

State investigators have ruled that the death of an inmate at the Black Hawk County jail earlier this month was an accident.

A report released by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says 34-year-old James Terrell Taylor died of an accidental overdose of drugs, which he ingested prior to his arrest.

Taylor was taken into custody on March 7th on two warrants for failing to appear for court dates on OWI and drug charges. While being booked at the Black Hawk County jail, Taylor was found unresponsive in an intake cell and later pronounced dead at a Waterloo hospital.

The Iowa D-C-I was called in to investigate Taylor’s death. Iowa State Medical Examiner Dr. Julia Goodin conducted an autopsy on March 9th and found no evidence of trauma.

On Wednesday (March 26, 2014), the state medical examiner determined that Taylor died of acute amphetamine/methamphetamine intoxication and certified his death as accidental.