by Brittany Hailer
Two men who died in the Allegheny County Jail earlier this year, died of natural causes related to heart disease, according to the most recent release from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.
Jerry Lee Ross, Jr., 48, who died after he was found unresponsive in his cell April 28, died naturally of cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, according to the medical examiner.
Jail employees had conducted CPR and Ross was declared dead by a medical provider at the jail, according to an email from jail spokesperson Jesse Geleynse.
Ronald James Andrus, 78, also declared dead by jail staff on August 14, was hospitalized for 10 days prior to being transferred back to the jail. He died the same day he was released back to jail custody.
“He had been back at the facility on the medical unit for about an hour when a medical emergency was declared,” Warden Orlando Harper wrote in an email to the Jail Oversight Board.
Andus died naturally of ventricular fibrillation, a type of irregular heart rhythm, according to the medical examiner.
Earlier this year, the medical examiner ruled a third death as natural. Gerald Thomas, 26, died March 6 at UPMC Mercy Hospital where he was taken after he suffered a medical emergency in the jail. Thomas died of a bilateral pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in his lung artery.
Since March 2020, 17 men have died after entering the jail. Six died in 2022.
The timeline of Allegheny County Jail deaths in 2022 are as follows:
September: Anthony Talotta, 57, died at UPMC Mercy on Sept. 21 after he was transferred from the jail’s mental health unit and released from custody. Cause of death has not been released by the medical examiner.
August: Ronald James Andrus, 78, died August 14 in the Allegheny County Jail of an irregular heart rhythm, according to the medical examiner. His manner of death was ruled as natural.
“He had been in the hospital for the last 10 days but was released earlier today to return to the jail. He had been back at the facility on the medical unit for about an hour when a medical emergency was declared,” Harper wrote in an email to the Jail Oversight Board. Andrus was declared dead by jail medical staff shortly before 4:00 p.m. on August 14.
July: Victor Joseph Zilinek, 39, suffered a drug overdose resulting in his July 13 death, according to the medical examiner. His manner of death was ruled an accident. The combined toxic effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine contributed to his death, according to the medical examiner.
April: Jerry Lee Ross Jr., 48, died at the Allegheny County Jail on April 29. Jail employees conducted CPR and Ross was declared dead by a medical provider at the jail, according to an email from jail spokesperson Jesse Geleynse. He died of cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, according to the medical examiner. His manner of death was ruled natural.
March: Gerald Thomas, 26, died March 6 at UPMC Mercy Hospital where he was taken after he suffered a medical emergency in the jail. Thomas died of a bilateral pulmonary embolism, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. His manner of death was ruled natural.
January: Paul Spisak, 77, died in January in a hospital after the court released him from Allegheny County Jail custody following an incident which left him unresponsive in his cell on Jan. 22. The medical examiner determined that his cause of death was blunt force trauma. The manner of death was ruled an accident.
More Allegheny County Jail Stories:
Thirteen men died after going to the Allegheny County Jail. Here are their stories
Photo by Jake Dabkowski
If you have any information about a death at the Allegheny County Jail, contact Brittany Hailer at bhailer08@gmail.com or via Twitter @BrittanyHailer.