ROCHESTER, Minn. – A jailer making his usual 5 a.m. rounds found a detainee unresponsive in his cell. Resuscitation efforts failed. .An ambulance crew was called. The detainee, Russell James Simon Jr., 59, of Rochester, was declared dead. Simon was in custody for a felony assault charge in Olmsted County. He also was being held on a state prison warrant. Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said the regional medical examiner, located at at Mayo Clinic, would perform an autopsy. Under usual protocol, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate as an external agency, the sherff said.
Jail profile
The Olmsted County Adult Detention Center is direct supervision facility that opened in 1993 with 100 beds. It was later expanded to 202. The jail house detainees, both men and women, for other federal, state, and county agencies when space is available.
Inmate death protocol
> Sheriff sends condolences to family and friends.
> Counseling is offered jail staff, including paid administrative leave if needed.
Simon. Held on a Rochester assault charge and probation violation on a 2008 Itasca murder conviction