DATE: Wednesday, August 6, 1997             TAG: 9708060444

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   26 lines

INMATE STABLE AFTER ALLEGED DRUG OVERDOSE

A 36-year-old inmate at Indian Creek Correctional Center was in stable condition Tuesday after he collapsed in his cell from what fellow inmates reported was a drug overdose.

The inmate, who was serving time after a robbery conviction in Virginia Beach, was found on the floor of his cell during regular rounds Monday morning, said Warden James Smith. The inmate was having difficulty breathing. Authorities did not release his name.

Fellow inmates said he had been using drugs, Smith said. They did not not specify what kind of drug or how the inmate administered the drug, the warden said.

The inmate was being treated at Chesapeake General Hospital Tuesday, where he was under guard by correctional officers, Smith said.

Building Five, where he had been housed, remained locked down Tuesday afternoon as authorities investigated possible drug use. Nothing had been found by that time, Smith said. The medium-security prison houses about 1,040 inmates, Smith said. KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE JAIL INMATE DRUG OVERDOSE

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu