PORT ORCHARD — An investigation is under way into the death of a male inmate in the Kitsap County Jail.
The Kitsap County Coroner’s Office confirmed the identity of the deceased inmate as Timothy Lawrence Prince, 35, of Central Kitsap. Prince was occupying a cell by himself, Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson reported.
Prince was discovered in his cell on Jan. 2 around 7:10 a.m. by sheriff’s corrections officers who were to take him to a medical weigh-in. He was pronounced dead by a South Kitsap Fire & Rescue emergency medical crew, Wilson reported.
“Although the investigation is in its early stages, initial indications are that the man’s death is an apparent suicide,” Wilson reported.
Wilson said he could not provide any other details about the potential circumstances surrounding Prince’s death, saying that those details are part of the investigation.
Prince booked into county jail on Sept. 22 for escape from community custody by state Department of Corrections, Wilson reported. A probable-cause charge of harassment was filed at the time of his booking for an earlier investigation conducted by Bremerton police. An additional charge of custodial assault was filed on Dec. 16 after Prince resisted a change in custody movement within the jail and assaulted a corrections supervisor, Wilson reported.
Total bail for all charges was $200,000.
Since Prince’s death occurred when he was in the custody of the sheriff’s office, the investigation is being conducted by an outside agency, per standard operating procedure, Wilson reported.
The Port Orchard Police Department, with assistance from investigators with the Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team, is handling the investigation. “The release of further details concerning this inquiry is under the purview of Port Orchard police,” Wilson reported.
Following an autopsy by the county’s forensic pathologist, the coroner will issue a determination as to cause and manner of death, Wilson reported.
According to Wilson, the jail has a total of 587 inmate beds, but “77 beds [are] not in use as the housing unit is closed due to staffing levels.”
On Jan. 2, the jail population was 353.
There are 86 sheriff’s corrections officers on the roster, though “this number doesn’t include the chief of corrections or corrections support personnel,” Wilson said.
There are 13 corrections officers on the day shift, 12 on the swing shift, and 10 on the graveyard shift, though “this number may fluctuate as operational requirements dictate,” Wilson said.
