Harford Inmate Dies After Heart Attack: Sheriff

BEL AIR, MD - An inmate at the Harford County Detention Center died Saturday after being taken to the hospital, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

John Kobler Burkley II, 54, was pronounced deceased at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center after having a heart attack, officials said.

He had been detained since Aug. 15 because he violated a pretrial release agreement that was related to a DUI case, according to the sheriff's office. Court records show Burkley, of the unit block of Winding Way in Elkton, was to be sentenced on Tuesday for charges of DUI, DWI and refusing to take a breathalyzer that were waged after an incident on Dec. 12, 2015.

At the detention center on Saturday, deputies decided at 12:24 p.m. that Burkley would be taken to the hospital for care, and officials said that at 12:36 p.m., an ambulance from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company came to take him to Upper Chesapeake.

Burkley got worse as the day went on and was pronounced deceased at 5:28 p.m. at the hospital, officials said.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case, as is policy, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was notified but is not conducting an autopsy because there were preexisting conditions in Burkley's case. The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office reported Sunday.