ST. JOSEPH, Mich. — An investigation is underway after a Berrien County inmate died in the wake of displaying signs of medical distress at the Berrien County Jail on Tuesday.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) says 40-year-old Robert Maurice Graves of Benton Harbor was lodged at the Berrien County Jail Monday, Aug. 14 for operating with a high blood alcohol concentration, violating his driver’s license, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting and obstruction.
We’re told Graves drifted out of consciousness while in his cell more than a day later before 10:10 a.m.
Prison staff and medical professionals administered care and an ambulance was summoned, deputies explain.
BCSO says Graves suffered a cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital. Attempts to save his life continued at Corewell Health Lakeland Medical Center until he was pronounced dead shortly after 11:20 a.m.
Michigan State Police (MSP) and the WMed Medical Examiner’s Office were called to investigate Graves’s cause of death.
An autopsy conducted Wednesday morning revealed no evidence of trauma, deputies say. However, he did have a slightly enlarged heart.
The official cause of death is still pending an awaited toxicology report.
