Sheriff’s Office: Inmate dies in Florida Panhandle jail

Published:
MGN

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) – Jail officials in the Florida Panhandle say a 56-year-old inmate who was awaiting charges on human trafficking and sexual battery died in his cell.

Bay County Sheriff’s investigators say Ernest Jarvis was found dead on Monday. He’d been in the Bay County Jail since being arrested in August on a charge of sexual assault on a minor.

The News Herald reports prosecutors filed additional charges Oct. 6 that include human trafficking, an unlawful sexual act with a minor, forcing another to become a prostitute, soliciting a minor to commit prostitution and providing alcohol to minors.

Authorities say an inspection of Jarvis’ body didn’t show any initial signs of foul play. But the case remains open pending a cause of death from the medical examiner.

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