JeffCo Jail Inmate Dies After Medical Incident

GOLDEN, CO – An inmate from Jefferson County jail, originally from Colorado Springs, died Dec. 16 after being transported to a local hospital, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

Jeffery John Gillis, 68, was taken from the jail Saturday around 4:45 a.m. to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood "due to declining health issues," the sheriff's office said in a press release.

At the hospital, Gillis "initially improved," but ultimately died after an unspecified medical incident around 2 a.m. Sunday, the statement said.

Gillis was being held in custody after he allegedly acted out during a municipal court hearing Aug. 15 in Lakewood. Gillis, described as "homeless and unemployed" on police records, had been arrested twice in June and July for trespassing at Freaky's Headshop in Lakewood, in the 100 block of South Wadsworth, Lakewood Police Spokesman John Romero said.

Gillis "became combative" during the August hearing about those citations, according to an arrest affidavit. He allegedly struggled with officers and "yelled profanities into the microphone at the podium" while addressing the judge. He was charged with obstructing government operations and resisting arrest, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office and Jefferson County District Attorney's Office will investigate Gillis's death. No cause of death was immediately given, and the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office will determine the exact cause and manner of death, the sheriff's office said.

Image via Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

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