23 Year Old Ate Before Dying In Jail: Sheriff

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A 23 year old man who died while in custody at Gwinnett County Jail ate at least twice while he was there, the sheriff's office said.

That announcement, which the sheriff's office made on social media, comes as a response to speculation by the family of Christopher Howard that a medical condition he suffered may have been triggered after he was denied food.

"The truth is that we don't know why (Howard) suffered a medical emergency less than eight hours after he arrived at our jail," the sheriff's office says in the post. "No one knows yet. We do know, however, that our staff worked very diligently to save his life.

"We also know that he received food very shortly upon his arrival to the jail and is captured on camera eating twice while he was here."

Howard, of Flowery Branch, was booked into the jail at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 15.

That night, he suffered a medical emergency and was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center, where he died. He was officially signed out of jail custody the following morning at 11:32 a.m.

A spokesperson for the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office said Howard's death is under investigation by the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's office, and that it could take weeks for results of the investigation to come in.

His father, Richard Howard, told the Gwinnett Daily Post last week that Christopher suffered from a metabolic enzyme deficiency that would cause his blood sugar to drop dramatically if he didn't eat frequently.

He said that Christopher, who was on probation for a DUI offense, went to a probation meeting at about noon on Feb. 15. He'd packed a lunch and planned to eat it after the meeting, Richard told the paper.

At the meeting, Christopher was given a random drug test, which he apparently failed. He was charged with misdemeanor probation violation.

Richard told the Daily Post that Christopher wasn't allowed to get his lunch while he waited to be transported to Gwinnett County Jail.

During a phone call with his girlfriend at about 10 p.m., Richard Howard told the paper, Christopher said he was told that dinner had already been served by the time he was booked and that he hadn't eaten at all.

Since Richard Howard spoke, the sheriff's office has spoken to him and his family.

"We reached out to the Howard family to share this information in the hopes that it would bring them a measure of comfort and lessen the great burden that they carry," the sheriff's office post reads.

It said the sheriff's office is not releasing the video of Christopher eating at the jail, according to the family's request.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Howard family," the post concludes. "We hope that they receive the answers they are seeking at the conclusion of the Medical Examiner's investigation."

Image via Shutterstock