Greenwood County Sheriff Heath Samuels says last week’s incident that sent several inmates to the hospital and others to the Lyon County Jail had to do with illegal opioids, not noxious gases.
The incident developed Tuesday afternoon. Samuels says 4 inmates deliberately ingested unknown white powdery substances that resulted in opioid overdoses, causing health hazards for other inmates, jail staff and first responders.
Samuels says 2 inmates were initially reported as unresponsive, but 2 others went to critical condition within minutes of the first emergency call. Evacuation procedures then started for both the Greenwood County Courthouse and the Greenwood County Jail as a precautionary step. Eventually, the inmates began showing symptoms consistent with opioid use, so emergency crews administered Narcan to all the affected inmates before they were taken to Greenwood County Hospital for additional care. Lyon County Undersheriff John Koelsch has told KVOE News nearly 30 inmates were transferred to Emporia for temporary housing at the Lyon County Jail.
Samuels says his staffers are investigating how the contraband got into the jail, with evidence reviews, interviews and tests underway. He says criminal charges related to the incident are expected.
Samuels credited Greenwood County EMS, Eureka Fire, USD 389 Eureka Public Schools, Greenwood County Hospital and off-duty responders for their work to stabilize the situation.
