Jail inmate death due to overdose; homicide probe underway

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The Pima County Sheriff’s Department says a jail inmate’s death last month was due to a drug overdose and is now being investigated as a homicide. The office said 24-year-old Pedro Xavier Martinez Palacios died Jan. 14 at a hospital where he was taken Jan. 10 after he told a corrections officer that he required medical assistance. The office said no signs of trauma or suspicious circumstances were observed but that the county Medical Examiner’s Office subsequently determined that Palacios’ death was due to a fentanyl overdose. The office said the homicide investigation was ongoing, and no additional information was released.