Inmate who died was due to be released
Inmate Shannon Sargent died the day she was due to be released from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, according to her former lawyer.
Sargent was found dead in her cell shortly after midnight Tuesday night.
The 34-year-old woman did not have a lawyer assigned to her file when she died. However, Paul Lewandowski, a well-known Ottawa criminal defence lawyer, has defended Sargent when she faced charges in the past. He said his office had been contacted by the Crown attorney to appear in court on Tuesday to secure Sargent’s release.
A representative from Lewandowski’s law firm attended court Tuesday morning, but was informed Sargent was receiving medical attention from paramedics and could not attend court. The court date was pushed to Wednesday morning.
When Lewandowski attempted to see Sargent on Wednesday morning at the OCDC prior to attending court, he was informed by the cellblock officer that she had died overnight.
“She was slated for a consent release,” he said. “We never got a release, because the paramedics got involved instead. We never got a chance to get her released. I guess somebody cleared her to go back to the cells. She shouldn’t have been in jail that evening, but you can’t do a consent release without the person being there.”
Lewandowski wouldn’t blame Sargent’s death on any of the institutions or services involved. At this point, he said, with the information available, there isn’t any evidence to suggest anything untoward happened.
“It got put off by a day and it probably shouldn’t have, but there was nothing specific that could have been done about that,” he said. “As a lawyer who has dealt with this client before, it’s absolutely tragic to hear of this happening. But, at the same, without further information, I’m not prepared to point fingers at anybody.”
He said he would be watching for further information about the incident if it becomes available.
While details on Sargent’s death are scarce, it is believed to be medically related. She had heart surgery last week, and was picked up by a friend at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute on Friday. According to one of her close friends, Jessica O’Ree, police arrested Sargent on outstanding arrest warrants some time after that.
While the timeline of what happened next is still unclear, it is believed Sargent was taken to hospital at some point following her arrest while she was still recovering from the heart surgery. She was transferred back to OCDC by Tuesday evening, where she died in her cell.
Sargent had a long history of drug-related offences and breaching court-ordered conditions. She was involved in three ongoing cases, most recently on two counts of drug possession from earlier this year.
Sargent was a mother of three children — two sons and a daughter — who are no longer in her care.
She was also known to frequent the Shepherds of Good Hope shelter downtown, and her last known address was listed in court documents as the shelter at 256 King Edward Ave.
Her death, the third of an inmate at OCDC in four months, has intensified the spotlight already shining on the Innes Road facility.