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UPDATE: Coroner IDs dead Franklin County inmate

By Cameron Probert
Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond says people dealing with homelessness, drug addiction and mental health crises are being thrown into the county jails, then corrections officers are tasked with trying to mitigate those problems in a jail setting and that’s not working.
Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond says people dealing with homelessness, drug addiction and mental health crises are being thrown into the county jails, then corrections officers are tasked with trying to mitigate those problems in a jail setting and that’s not working. File Tri-City Herald

A Franklin County jail inmate was found dead in his cell on Monday.

Harry A. Wilkerson, 63, of Pasco, was discovered about 9:30 a.m. Monday. Pasco police booked him on Friday on suspicion of second-degree burglary.

Chief Deputy Coroner Candice Hermanson said an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Sheriff Jim Raymond said the death doesn’t appear to be “criminally related.”

He asked the Tri-City Special Investigations Unit to investigate the death.

The unit includes detectives from other agencies in the area and is called in to act as an independent investigator.

This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "UPDATE: Coroner IDs dead Franklin County inmate."

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