A Lake County jail sergeant and lieutenant are on leave and two chiefs were demoted by Sheriff Mark Curran on Thursday following the death of an inmate.
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said on Thursday that Deputy Chief Ted Uchiek was demoted to lieutenant, Correctional Chief Dave Wathen was demoted to deputy chief and Deputy Chief Bill Kinville was promoted to interim chief.
Curran also said that a jail sergeant and lieutenant, who were not named, were placed on administrative leave. The administration changes come following the death of Lake County Jail inmate Edward Robinson III, 32, of Park City.
Curran said that he had seen video of the incident and made the staff changes because of it.
Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that Robinson was found unresponsive in his maximum security jail cell around 11 a.m. Wednesday. First-aid and an automated external defibrillator (AED) were administered by jail security.
Paramedics were called to the scene and transported the man to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead. On Friday, Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said that an autopsy showed that Robinson had no signs of trauma.
“The cause of death cannot be determined at this time. Further testing is being done, as well as, toxicology,” Dr. Cooper added.
Robinson was brought to the Lake County Jail on July 17 on felony burglary charges.
He had been in the jail for 64 days. Covelli said that the man was alone in his cell at the time he was found on Wednesday.
The man was in the maximum security part of the jail, which holds one inmate in each jail cell, because he had been disruptive and threatening towards other inmates, Covelli said.
In August, a Lake County judge found Robinson unfit to stand trial on his charges. He was ordered to be held in the jail until the Illinois Department of Human Services could determine the appropriate action to take.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force continues to conduct an independent investigation into the man’s death.