In-custody death at MCSO detention center under investigation

An investigation is underway after the in-custody death of a Mecklenburg County Detention Center inmate.

The sheriff’s office says 41-year-old Juan Utuy-Sarat was found unresponsive in a housing unit in the jail on Saturday, April 25.

Utuy-Sarat received life-saving measures before being transported to the hospital. He died Saturday morning. 

“Any time someone passes away in our custody, it weighs heavily on all of us,” Sheriff McFadden said. “We recognize the responsibility we have to every individual entrusted to our care, and I want the community to know that we remain committed to providing safe, secure and humane conditions inside our facility.”

The State Bureau of Investigation is now handling the case.