23-Year-Old Dies In Gwinnett County Jail

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A 23-year-old Gwinnett County man has died while being held at Gwinnett County Jail, with his family saying he may have lived if only he'd been allowed to eat.

Christopher Cody 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.

"Our hearts are heavy at the loss of this beloved young man whom our staff worked diligently to save when he experienced a medical emergency at the jail," sheriff's office spokeswoman Dep. Shannon Volkodav said in an email. "We extend our condolences to the Howard family as they mourn their great loss."

Howard's family believes his death may have been caused by a medical condition that required him to eat frequently.

His father, Richard Howard, told the Gwinnett Daily Post 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.

The father said he spoke with Christopher about a half-hour before he was booked into jail and reminded him to eat something. But 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.

Christopher Howard was on life support at Gwinnett Medical Center and died Feb. 19.

Howard had been attending Gainesville State College and working as an accountant at his father's trucking company, RWH Trucking.

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