41-year-old man dies in custody at Pima County detention center

A man who was in custody at the Pima County Adult Detention Complex died after being found unresponsive in his cell on Thursday.

Corrections officers found Benjamin Willhite, 41, unresponsive in his cell around 5 p.m. and called for medical assistance, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. Staff began life-saving measures.

The Tucson Fire Department responded and pronounced Willhite dead.

Willhite had been in custody since Wednesday afternoon for a felony drug warrant.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division found no signs of trauma and no suspicious circumstances around his death, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation was ongoing.

Prior in-custody deaths

On Aug. 16 Wade Welch, 37, died at the Pima County Adult Detention Complex one day after arriving. The case was being investigated by the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team with the Tucson Police Department leading the investigation.

In September, at least 3 deaths in detention centers were reported across Arizona.

Justin James Jarvy, 33, died by suicide at a Mohave County jail on Sept. 5, two days after he was booked into the facility, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.

At the Eyman prison complex in Florence Maximinio Matascranz, 24, was found unresponsive in his housing unit and died on Sept. 11, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.

On Sept. 19 Jose Jesus Rodriguez Parra died in his cell at the Maricopa County Jail by apparent suicide, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff ’s Office.