Cleveland County Jail inmate dies, second death in weeks

Mario Gonzalez/KFOR
·2 min read
1

CLEVELAND COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) — A Cleveland County Detention Center (CCDC) inmate died Saturday afternoon after suffering a medical incident.

According to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s office, a preliminary review showed Thomas Sanchez Pesina, 58, interacting with his cellmates in the morning. In-person sight checks were conducted between the hours of 7:22 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and no issues were detected.

Inmate at Cleveland County jail dies following medical incident

Authorities said that detention officers were in the pod at 10:20 a.m. and began serving food trays. Pesina was served and ate his meal.

At 11:35 a.m. Pesina was found unresponsive and a medical alert was issued. Medical and detention staff were in the unit at 11:37 a.m. when they immediately began to perform CPR to Pesina while EMS services were dispatched.

Pesina was transported to Norman Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:17 p.m.

According to medical staff, there were no signs of physical trauma to Pesina’s body. The cause of his death will be determined by the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office.

An investigation has been opened into Pesina’s death and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s has requested the assistance of Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations in the process.

Pesina was booked on May 21, 2023 into the CCDC following his arrest for charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication. He was found incompetent to stand trial during his hearing in August 2023 and has been waiting to transfer to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, Oklahoma.

This is the second inmate death in just a few weeks that has occurred at the CCDC. On April 19th, William Kenneth Moore, 36, was also found dead following a medical incident according to CCSO.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.