Family sought of inmate who died
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By BriAnne Dopart : The Herald-Sun
bdopart@heraldsun.com
Sep 5, 2006 : 11:12 pm ET
DURHAM -- Automated fingerprint identification may be the only way Durham County Jail officials will locate the family of a man who died today of an apparent heart attack while being held at the facility, according to the Durham County Sheriff's Office.
A man who told officers his name was John William Umstead, 45, was under suicide watch, according to Sheriff Worth Hill, when a corrections officer said the inmate collapsed inside his cell. After attempts to contact the Umstead's family were unsuccessful Tuesday evening, officials realized Umstead, who had been incarcerated here for 17 days, might have given officers false information when he was originally booked, Hill said.
Umstead was being held at the jail in lieu of $4,000 bond, on charged of being intoxicated and disruptive, resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer, and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer, according to Capt. Paul Martin.
Martin added that it's not all that uncommon for criminals to give fictitious names, addresses or family information when booked at the county jail. The problem, he theorized, is likely a national one.
"When you're arrested, the officer puts down what address you tell him," Martin said, "Quite frequently, if you arrest the same person again and again, you know when they're telling the truth or not."
There's no way for police or sheriff's deputies to confirm the information, Martin explained, because many criminals are transient and may not be legitimately occupying the addresses they do give. The information individuals give when arrested is not checked against any record, he added, because "there's really no way to verify if it's true."
The circumstances that led to Umstead being placed under suicide watch were unclear Tuesday, but Martin said that inmates are placed under watch only if they have expressed a desire to hurt themselves. Umstead, Martin added, was checked on every 15 minutes as part of the jail's suicide watch policy.
Just before 2 p.m., "a detention officer went into the cell so he could give [Umstead] what he needed to shower. [Umstead] stood up, complained of chest pains, passed out, fell backwards and hit his head," Martin said.
The jail's medical staff rushed to Umstead's aid and immediately called paramedics. The medical staff said Umstead was dead by 2:06 p.m., Martin said.
Typical fingerprint checks take several weeks to complete, Martin said. Martin said such a check had been started on Umstead but results had not been returned at the time of his death.
Now investigators are attempting to use Umstead's fingerprints to track down his next of kin using an expedited Automated Fingerprint Identification System, called AFIS, according to Martin.
Martin emphasized that officials aren't sure if Umstead gave his real name to officials or not. Court documents show a 45-year-old man by the name of John A. Umstead, alias William R. Umstead, was arrested in 2000 for resisting a public officer but the charges against the man were dismissed and no address or contact information was listed on the record.
Under normal circumstances, Martin said, information about an inmate's death would not be released without sending notification to his family. This case is a special circumstance, Martin said, and investigators are hoping someone in the community might be able to lend answers as to Umstead's family and identity.
Anyone with information on Umstead's next of kin is asked to call the Durham County Sheriff's Office at 560-0897.
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