Another tragic death

Ash Street inmate dies

By ROB MARGETTA
Standard-Times staff writer

April 18, 2007 6:00 AM

NEW BEDFORD - A woman held at the Ash Street Jail on a drug charge was found dead Monday morning, according to the Bristol County Sheriff's Department, which manages the facility.

Francelina Soares Furtado, 41, of New Bedford, was brought to Ash Street by New Beford police Saturday, at 10:30 p.m., on a charge of possession of a Class C substance, the Sheriff's Office said. She was held in lieu of $1,500 cash bail.

Bernard Sullivan, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said workers at the jail found Ms. Furtado slumped in her cell Monday morning when they brought her a dose of the prescription medicine she was receiving.

She was found unresponsive at 9:11 a.m., with no signs of suicide or foul play.

Mr. Sullivan said jail staff administered CPR and called an ambulance. Ms. Furtado was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead just after 9:30 a.m.

"As in any death of that sort, the District Attorney's Office is handling the investigation," Mr. Sullivan said.

A spokesperson for the DA said the state Medical Examiner's Office is performing an autopsy.