Passaic County Jail Inmate Found Dead In Cell

PATERSON, NJ – An inmate at the Passaic County Jail was found dead inside of his cell early Monday morning, authorities said.

Passaic County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Bill Maer said 40-year-old Omar McClean’s death is not considered suspicious and preliminary investigation points toward natural causes.

Around 3:30 a.m., McClean was found unresponsive in his single-cell unit when jail staff tried to wake him up for breakfast, Maer said. Medical staff, along with EMTs, responded to the cell and attempted to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Maer said.

The Paterson resident has been in jail since December 2018 on charges of criminal sexual contact, two counts of endangering-sexual contact with a child, two counts of lewdness-observed by a child, burglary and criminal attempt.

His next scheduled court appearance was Oct. 15 in superior court.