Fort Dix, With Most COVID Cases Among Prisons, Sees 1st Death

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — A federal prison in South Jersey that has been seen the highest number of coronavirus cases of any facility in the country saw its first fatality last week, officials announced.

Myron Crosby, a 58-year-old at-risk inmate at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in Burlington County, died on Friday after being hospitalized with the coronavirus, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Crosby tested positive for the virus on Dec. 28. At that point, he was immediately placed in medical isolation, authorities said. On Jan. 7, he was taken to a local hospital to be treated for breathing difficulties, officials said. His health continued to decline, and he was pronounced deceased by medical staff on Jan. 22.

Crosby had long-term, pre-existing medical conditions, which the CDC lists as risk factors for developing a more severe version of the disease, authorities said in their announcement.

He had previously warned the jail about his health factors, and his attorney filed a motion for compassionate release last summer as the number of cases at the prison increased, according to nj.com. The motion was denied, with the judge citing the seriousness of his crimes, according to the report.

He was serving a 14-year sentence for conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, according to the BOP release. He had been in custody since Sept. 17, 2019.

His motion was filed as the number of positive coronavirus cases at the prison continued to climb. According to the BOP, Fort Dix has had the highest number of coronavirus cases of any federal prison in the country.

More than 1,400 inmates have had the virus since the pandemic began, including 40 who are currently battling the virus. Among staff members, 72 have had the virus, including 32 who currently have it, as of Tuesday.

The numbers prompted Rep. Andy Kim, D-Burlington/Ocean, earlier this month to call on the BOP to lock the prison down.

“The outbreak of COVID-19 at Ft. Dix FCI is a clear and present danger to the federal employee staff, the inmates, and to our communities in New Jersey surrounding the Joint Base,” Kim said. “I continue to hear from Bureau of Prisons leadership that the situation is under control or improving, but it is clearly not.

“I urgently call upon BOP leadership to take immediate action to stop the spread of COVID-19 at Ft. Dix FCI. There are concrete steps BOP Director Michael Carvajal can take immediately. He should order the lock down of Ft. Dix FCI, devote full attention to reducing inmate-to-inmate spread, continue the moratorium of inmate transfers in and out of the facility that is due to expire this week, increase testing availability for staff and inmates, and provide all resources available to staff in order to address the outbreak there. Not doing so would further endanger the health and safety of thousands of people and would lead to the full loss of confidence in Director Carvajal’s leadership.”

Fort Dix remains open as of Tuesday morning.