John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight
The state is investigating another death in Department of Corrections custody.
Nicholas Skorka, 42, died at the South Dakota State Penitentiary on Tuesday, according to a press release.
The release did not list a cause of death for Skorka. He is the 10th person to die in the department’s custody this year and the fourth that will be subject to scrutiny by the state Division of Criminal Investigation, the investigative arm of the Attorney General’s Office.
The death certificate for one of the investigated cases, that of 20-year-old Anthony Richards, lists the cause of his February death as an overdose of “synthetic cannabinoid 5F-ADB,” a drug sometimes referred to as K2. Two other inmates, 39-year-old Jason Garreau and 24-year-old Joshua Arrow, died days apart late last month. Arrow’s official death certificate has yet to be filed; Garreau’s was filed last week and lists methamphetamine toxicity” as his cause of death.
Wednesday’s release did not say if Skorka’s death is being investigated as drug-related. An autopsy for Skorka, whose body was found in his cell, will take place Thursday.
“DCI will do a thorough investigation, and we will determine what additional action is needed pending the results of that investigation,” Attorney General Marty Jackley said in the release.
On May 29, Department of Corrections spokesman Michael Winder sent a notice saying the department had busted a drug ring at the penitentiary. Its staff seized shipments of drugs intended for delivery to Sioux Falls inmates via the mail and parcels delivered by visitors to inmates.
“If the results of the investigation warrant prosecution,” that day’s news release said, “criminal charges will be sought.”
Jackley’s spokesman Tony Mangan told South Dakota Searchlight on Wednesday that no charges have been filed for actions tied to the drug ring or in-custody deaths.