Mark Ross was charged with three felony counts of criminal endangerment, a felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia for an incident in the Cascade County Adult Detention Center.
Just before midnight on Jan. 11, a Cascade County deputy was called to the jail for an inmate who appeared to be overdosing.
Detention staff told the deputy that Ross had been brought in and booked earlier in the day; corrections staff found him in the cell suffering from an apparent overdose, administered Narcan and called EMS to transport him to the hospital, according to court documents.
Woman charged for bringing drugs into county jail causing inmate overdoses
Detention officers searched his cell and found a book with a white powdery substance on the cover with a rolled up piece of paper fashioned into a snort tube next to the book, according to court documents.
The responding deputy saw a member of the nursing staff on the floor appearing to be suffering the effects of an overdose from exposure to an opiate. Two detention officers were also exhibiting symptoms of fentanyl exposure, according to court documents.
Ross was searched at the hospital and deputies discovered two bindles of white powder, both about two grams, that tested positive for fentanyl, according to court documents.
Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said that Ross had hidden the drugs inside his body and court rulings prevent jail staff from strip searching people brought in on misdemeanor charges.
The jail also has a body scanner, but items can still be hidden inside a person and not easily identified by the scanner, Slaughter said.
Prosecutors requested a $50,000 bond due to “the nature of the incident and the risks posed to others by Ross’ possession and overdose,” according to charging documents.
