Cleveland Hts. woman’s jail cell death probed

Questions arise over how often she got medication.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS A woman who died last month in a Cleveland Heights jail cell may have been improperly medicated by jail personnel, according to jail records.

Documents released Thursday show a discrepancy with the amount of times Ralkina Jones was given her prescriptions the day before she died in her cell.

Jones, 37, was arrested on July 24 after she was accused of assaulting her ex-husband and trying to hit him with her car.

Her cause of death remains under investigation.

A medication log sheet indicates that Jones took her prescriptions three times in about 24 hours, while the jail log shows that they were administered to her twice.

It’s not clear from records how often she was supposed to take her medications.

Cleveland Heights officials said they’re investigating the inconsistency.

“We note that the Medical Log Sheet reflects fewer medications dispensed to Ms. Jones than documented in the Jail Log,” assistant law director Elizabeth Wells Rothenburg said in an emailed statement. “This matter is under investigation along with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s investigation of the cause of Ms. Jones’s death.”

Jones documented her various medical conditions on a jail form. They included heart disease, epilepsy, difficulty breathing and mental health problems. Jones was taking prescriptions for blood pressure, depression and anxiety disorder, seizures, migraines, pain and insomnia.

Jones expressed concern about her health to police the day before she died.

“I don’t want to die in your cell,” Jones told two police officers in an interaction captured by body cameras.

A few hours after that conversation, a jail employee found Jones appearing sick about 7:15 p.m. An EMS crew responded and took her to a clinic.

A doctor did blood tests and performed a CAT scan of Jones’ brain, records show.