A City of Kent Corrections Facility inmate, who had a medical emergency and was transported by medics to a Renton hospital, died of natural causes, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
DaMenique Lajuan Beasley, 36, died of complications following seizure and cardiac arrest in the setting of chronic opioid and methamphetamine use disorder, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office Dec. 26 report.
Beasley died May 15 at Valley Medical Center in Renton, just two days after a corrections officer notified a police supervisor that a 36-year-old Kent man was having a medical emergency and medics transported him to the hospital, according to a May 15 Kent Police news release. The city jail is at 1230 Central Ave. S.
The Medical Examiner’s Office had not made a ruling about the cause and manner of death of Beasley until Dec. 26.
Beasley ended up in the city jail after patrol officers responded May 11 to a domestic violence dispute, according to police. He had fled the scene but was located nearby a short time later. He had a no-bail warrant from the state Department of Corrections for escape from community custody. Officers arrested him for the warrant and a local Kent charge.
During his arrest, Beasley attempted to swallow several baggies of powdered drugs, according to police. In an effort to protect the inmate, the officers removed the drugs from his mouth before he was able to swallow the baggies.
In an abundance of caution, the inmate was directly transported to Valley Medical Center in Renton to ascertain if he had managed to swallow any drugs, according to police. He was medically cleared by the hospital and an officer transported him to the city jail for booking.
2nd jail death in 2025
A 45-year-old female inmate at the City of Kent Corrections Facility died of “dehydration and ketoacidosis, opiate withdrawal,” and her manner of death was natural, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Rena Rae Flaherty died on April 22 at the city jail, according to a May 14 report by the medical examiner. A corrections officer found her dead in a holding cell, according to Kent Police. She had been in the jail since April 19.
The city jail houses misdemeanor offenders arrested by police as well as those sentenced to less than one year in Kent Municipal Court, which is next to the jail. The crimes include driving under influence, domestic violence, minor assaults, petty theft and others. Felony cases are handled by King County’s Maleng Regional Justice Center jail in Kent or the King County Correctional Facility in downtown Seattle.
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