Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of the death of an inmate in the Trinity County Jail, and a small group of about a dozen friends and family gathered in front of the jail to demand justice. The Sheriff’s Department has denied responsibility for the death of 32-year-old Joshua Garbutt. A lawsuit was filed in November by his parents, Stacy Hettinger and Brian Garbutt of Redding. The suit claims that Joshua was there for three days pleading with the correctional officers to provide him medical attention before he was found dead in his cell. The cause of death was apparently heart failure related to Fentanyl withdrawal, but apparently the only thing he was given was a bucket to vomit into as he screamed in pain while experiencing seizures in a solitary confinement cell. He had been jailed on charges of petty theft and misdemeanor warrants. The federal suit seeks $20 Million against Trinity County, the Jail, the Sheriff, Correctional Deputies and the medical provider. Hettinger says she still has not been given the autopsy report. The jail had only been in operation for less than two years, and already experienced three inmate deaths.
-Steve Gibson