The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office has launched a homicide investigation after 31-year-old Markeisha Monique Renee Blount died while in custody at Maple Street Correctional Center, forwarding their findings to the District Attorney's Office. According to a press release by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, an inmate allegedly brought drugs, including fentanyl, into the correctional facility, leading to Blount's death.
The incident, reported last Monday, involved sheriff's office personnel trying to offer life-saving measures when Blount was found in distress. Despite administering Narcan and other emergency actions brought by medical staff and EMS workers, she was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sheriff's Office has identified Ashley "Ashly" J. Gromnicki, 34, the inmate suspected of bringing the fatal drugs into the facility. It has been recommended to charge with murder, as detailed in the same statement.
A report by Hoodline states that independent investigations into the in-custody death are being conducted by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, the Coroner’s Office, and the Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau. Further details on how the drugs may have entered the Maple Street Correctional Center, and any systemic lapses in security, are expected to be a focus of these inquiries.
