A repeat offender was found dead in his jail cell Sunday night at the Aiken County Detention Center, but no foul play is suspected, authorities said.
Around 5 p.m. Sunday, the coroner’s office was called to the Aiken County Detention Center regarding the death of an inmate. The inmate, identified as 53-year-old Jeffery K. Hallman of Beech Island, was found unresponsive in his cell, Coroner Darryl Ables said.
Hallman will be autopsied in Newberry to determine his cause of death. “No foul play is suspected,” Ables said in a press release.
The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office has called in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Aiken County Coroner’s Office to conduct an investigation into the inmate’s death.
Hallman is a repeat offender who has appeared regularly in The Jail Report for minor crimes such as trespassing, disorderly conduct, harassment and malicious injury to property. He last entered the jail on June 17.
Sheriff’s Capt. Nick Gallam said he cannot rule out COVID-19 until the autopsy is done. The Aiken County jail has had one positive inmate and three positive staff members.