Chad Sizemore, 37, of Connersville, and Thomas Lohr, 30, of Connersville died June 6 after Indiana State Police said they inhaled carfentanil — a synthetic opioid similar to fentanyl but 100 times more powerful. ISP investigators said Sizemore smuggled the illegal powdery substance into the jail in his body cavity.
Preliminary shows that Sizemore was arrested the night of June 5 in Fountain City in Wayne County on a warrant for a probation violation in Fayette County. He was booked around 11 p.m. into the Fayette County Jail and placed in a holding cell with Lohr and 26-year-old Weslee Jenkins. Around midnight, jail staff found the three men in the cell unresponsive. Jail staff rendered aid and Fayette County EMS took the men to Fayette Regional Health hospital, where Sizemore and Lohr were pronounced dead. Jenkins was transferred to Reid Health hospital in Richmond, where he recovered, police said.
The incident remains under investigation, state police said.
FIRST REPORT (June 6)
Indiana State Police are investigating two deaths around midnight at the Fayette County Jail on Tuesday, according to a state police news release.
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Fayette County Sheriff Joey Laughlin requested state police investigate the deaths.
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Around 11 p.m. Monday, an inmate was brought in to the jail on a warrant for a probation violation, according to the news release.
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The preliminary investigation shows a 37-year-old Connersville man was arrested Monday evening in Fountain City, in Wayne County, by the Fountain City Marshall on a probation violation warrant out of Fayette County.
After being transported to the Wayne-Fayette County line and being transferred to a deputy, the man was brought to the Fayette County Jail where he was booked around 11 p.m. and placed in a holding cell with two other men.
Around midnight jail staff found the three men in their cell unresponsive, according to state police. Jail staff immediately rendered aid and summoned emergency personnel.
Fayette County medics arrived, treated and transported the men to Fayette Regional Health Hospital where two of the men were pronounced dead.
Investigators believe the two men died from ingesting an illegal substance that was possibly been smuggled into the jail, according to the news release.
The third inmate, who also ingested the substance, was transported to Fayette Regional Health Hospital, then later to Reid Health in Richmond for treatment and is expected to survive.
The exact cause of death of the two men will not be known until toxicology tests are completed.
The names of the men will be released after notification of kin, and the investigation remains ongoing at this time.
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