The La Porte County Sheriff’s Department provided an update on an inmate death from the late evening of July 22.
Police say La Porte County EMS was summoned to the La Porte County Jail to aid an inmate having an unknown medical episode. The inmate, 42-year-old Johnathon M. Tripp, of Argos, was transported to the hospital and passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital.
A death investigation was conducted by detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division. The investigation revealed that Tripp was operating a motor vehicle the evening of July 22 when he was stopped for a traffic violation by a deputy from the La Porte County Sheriff’s Department. Police say that during the traffic stop, Tripp ingested an illegal narcotic without the deputy’s knowledge.
Tripp had been taken into custody for a preliminary charge of possession of methamphetamine and an active Elkhart County warrant. Several hours after arriving at the jail, Tripp began to exhibit signs of an overdose and officers immediately began to render aid to Tripp prior to the arrival of EMS personnel, according to the report.
According to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Department, an autopsy showed that the cause of Tripp’s death was ruled an overdose and the manner as undetermined.
