VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An inmate who was about to be transferred to a mental health hospital from the Virginia Beach Correctional Center died in custody on Friday, according to city officials.
Larry Wayne Forbes, 52, was rushed to the hospital after he lost consciousness - but doctors couldn't save him. He was declared dead at 12:13 p.m. on June 25 - a little over an hour from when he lost consciousness.
Kathy Hieatt, a spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office, said teams at the jail tried to save Forbes.
"He was immediately given medical attention, including CPR, by the jail’s doctor and medical staff until Virginia Beach Emergency Medical Services and the Virginia Beach Fire Department arrived on scene to provide care," she wrote.
There's no word yet on his cause of death, but Hieatt said officials don't suspect foul play. The Norfolk Medical Examiner's Office is going to determine what happened to him.
Sheriff Ken Stolle promised to thoroughly investigate Forbes' death, and offered his family condolences.
“No one should die in jail, and this is yet another tragic example of a man who needed to be in a mental health facility, not a jail cell," Stolle wrote. "We were doing everything we could to provide Mr. Forbes with the care he needed. Unfortunately, that help did not come soon enough, as we just received the necessary order to transfer him to a mental health hospital today."
Forbes had been at the correctional center for just over two weeks.
He was sent there on June 10, for a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a family member. He was denied bond.
Hieatt said Forbes denied a medical screening when he was brought to jail.
He had his own cell, and deputies had been keeping an eye on him, per detoxification protocol. Hieatt said Forbes had gotten through his mandatory 10-day COVID-19 quarantine.
The Virginia Beach Police Department, Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office and Virginia Department of Corrections are reviewing the incident. That's the protocol for when somebody dies in custody.