Report says inmate died of overdose

FORT SMITH — An inmate found dead in the Sebastian County jail last summer died from an accidental drug overdose, Sebastian County Prosecutor Daniel Shue announced Friday.

Shue said in a news release an Arkansas State Police investigation found Adrian Alexander Goodwin had methamphetamine, amphetamine and fentanyl in his system when the autopsy at the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s office was performed after his death July 24.

“It is the opinion of this office that no criminal charges can be filed against any person with regard to this death at this time,” Shue wrote.

Goodwin was jailed July 12 on an Arkansas Department of Correction absconding warrant, the release said. In the early morning hours of July 24, jail deputies found Goodwin lying on the floor of his cell without a pulse. Emergency medical personnel were called to the jail, and Goodwin was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Medical personnel also discovered a plastic bag of white powder on the body, which was turned over to law enforcement, the release said. The powder was analyzed at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock and identified as fentanyl.

“The investigation did not reveal how Goodwin came into possession of these highly toxic drugs,” Shue wrote.

There was no evidence that Goodwin’s use of the drugs was involuntary, leading to the finding that his death was an accidental overdose, the release said.