MARIN COUNTY, CA — Authorities have determined that a Marin County Jail inmate’s in-custody death earlier this year was due to COVID-19 complications, The Marin Independent Journal reports.
Anthony Makes Him First Jr., a 57-year-old South Dakota native, was found unresponsive in his cell Sept. 13 at around 8:35 p.m. when a deputy and a nurse were making rounds to give inmates their medications, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said. according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.
The deputy and nurse performed life-saving measures and requested the San Rafael Fire Department respond to the jail, but despite life saving measures, the inmate was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m., the Sheriff's Office said.
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In a tribute posted on Facebook, First is described as a loving father and grandfather.
“Ira Jr. was known as ‘Smiley’ because as a child he was always smiling, and so his grandfather, Jim Dearly, gave him the nickname that stuck to this day,” the tribute said.
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