The Cleveland County Detention Center announced Saturday an inmate died following a medical episode, the fifth one in two years.
At 10:20 a.m., Thomas Sanchez Pesina, 58, was served a food tray and ate his meal, according to a press release. At 11:35 a.m., he was found unresponsive, and a medical alert was issued. Two minutes later, medical and detention staff entered the unit to initiate CPR and EMS services were dispatched.
No incidents with Pesina or other inmates were detected in the pod during in-person checks conducted that morning.
Pesina was transported to Norman Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:27 p.m. with no signs of physical trauma found by medical staff. According to the detention center, his cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s office.
The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a joint investigation with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. In accordance with state statutes, the Oklahoma Department of Health will be notified as well. The detention center press release said more information will be available after the investigation is complete.
Pesina was arrested and booked on May 21, 2023, with charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication. He was found incompetent to stand trial during an August hearing.
Since then, Pesina has been awaiting transfer to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita.
Pesina’s death comes almost two weeks after William Kenneth Moore’s death, another Cleveland County detention inmate, making five inmate deaths since 2022.
In January, a federal lawsuit was filed against the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Turn Key Health Clinics and three medical professionals for allegedly contributing to the death of Shannon Hanchett, who died in the detention center’s custody on Dec. 8, 2022.
Hanchett, a local business owner, was arrested on Nov. 26, 2022, for making false 911 calls and obstructing an officer. According to the lawsuit, medical staff didn’t evaluate Hanchett, who suffered from bipolar disorder and lupus and whose health was deteriorating rapidly after being booked. She was not given any medication as well.
Almost two weeks after her arrest, on Dec. 8 at 1 a.m., Hanchett was pronounced dead. A state medical examiner’s report determined she died of heart failure with significant contributing factors of psychosis with auditory and visual hallucinations and severe dehydration.
About two weeks after Hanchett’s death, on Dec. 20, Kathryn Milano, 66 died in custody after suffering a medical emergency related to “pre-existing medical conditions”, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. According to a spokesperson for the Milano family, the family had been concerned about Milano’s mental health, which had deteriorated before her arrest.
A May State Health Department inspection found jailers failed to perform and missed scheduled checks for at least four people detained in December and January, with logs from Dec. 5 and 6 revealing detainees were left alone and unsupervised for up to 45 minutes at a time.
Both Hanchett and Milano were awaiting health evaluations.
On Feb. 25, 2023, the detention center announced Joe Allen Sims Jr., 44, died by hanging while in the facility’s custody. He had been in custody for about a week before his death.
On Feb. 21, 2023, four days before Sims’ death, Turn Key Health, the Cleveland County detention center’s health care provider, proposed changes in its contracts to add two positions, increase medical and health professional hours and raise its monthly rates by around $43,000.
During the Cleveland County Commissioner’s meeting in March, the proposal was approved by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. With this, the detention center will no longer admit inmates without a health screening. The amendment also requires adequate staffing levels to ensure appropriate delivery of care. However, District 1 County Commissioner Rod Cleveland said the approval was in response to the jail’s growing population and not the deaths.
This story was edited by Peggy Dodd and Anusha Fathepure. Avery Avery copy edited this story.
