A 26-year-old man serving out a probation violation was found unresponsive in his cell at the Boone County Jail this morning and later pronounced dead, marking the second time in seven months that an inmate has died inside the Lebanon facility under similar circumstances. Boone County Corrections Officers discovered the man, identified as Andrew Rose of Lebanon, at approximately 7:15 a.m. inside a secure housing area, and emergency crews were called immediately, but lifesaving efforts on scene were not enough to save him.
According to a media release from the Boone County Indiana Sheriff's Office, Rose had been booked into the jail on April 14, 2026, for a probation violation and was roughly 140 days into serving out that sentence. The release states that a preliminary scene investigation did not reveal any apparent signs of physical injury, and that the Boone County Sheriff's Office, working alongside the Boone County Coroner's Office, is now investigating the circumstances of his death. Rose's next of kin has already been notified, per the release.
Autopsy and Toxicology Results Still Weeks Away
An autopsy will be performed by a board-certified forensic pathologist in the coming days, but the cause and manner of death remain pending those results and further investigation, the sheriff's office said. That timeline tracks with standard Indiana protocol: full cause and manner determinations in custodial deaths typically take four to eight weeks pending toxicology, as reported by WTHR, with county coroners holding independent authority over inmate death investigations under state law. The coroner's office said it will release additional information as it becomes available and as permitted by Indiana law.
Lebanon Fire Department and Witham Medics assisted at the scene alongside sheriff's office personnel, and the Boone County Coroner's Office is assisting in the broader investigation. Sheriff Tony Harris, who took office in January 2023 after succeeding former Sheriff Michael Nielsen, oversees the jail division where the death occurred.
Second Cell Death Since February
Rose's death comes just under seven months after 33-year-old Brittany Moore of Indianapolis was found dead in her cell at the same jail on February 3, 2026, one day after she was booked on preliminary misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement and marijuana possession. WTHR's report on Moore's death noted that both deaths occurred without initial evidence of physical injury and were referred to board-certified forensic pathologists alongside the coroner's office for autopsy and toxicology determinations. Hoodline covered that earlier cell death in February.
Beyond Moore's case, the jail's history includes an August 2019 incident in which an inmate died following an apparent cardiac arrest inside the facility, according to footage and reporting from that time. Whether medical or mental health screening protocols were triggered during Rose's 140-day stay, whether toxicology or a pre-existing condition played any role, and whether internal reviews will examine cell check intervals and emergency response times across the two 2026 deaths all remain open questions that have not yet been answered publicly.
A Facility Built for Fewer Inmates Than It Now Holds
The deaths arrive against the backdrop of a major, ongoing overhaul of Boone County's correctional infrastructure. In June 2022, the Boone County Council approved a $59.1 million expansion of the Boone County Justice Center meant to grow jail capacity from 214 to 316 beds while adding dedicated mental health and addiction treatment space, an expanded infirmary, and a new home for the coroner's office, according to the Indiana Lawyer. The project, funded through a 0.2% local income tax increase, followed years of documented strain: county records from 2021 and 2022 show overcrowding at the 1992-built jail had frequently forced dozens of inmates to sleep on temporary plastic floor cots, as the Indianapolis Business Journal has reported, with one 2019 county study projecting Boone County would need to double its jail bed capacity by 2040 to keep pace with regional population growth.
The jail also runs a Jail Chemical Addiction Program, offering substance abuse counseling through Pro-Active Resources with funding help from the Indiana Department of Correction, aimed at reducing recidivism and preventing overdoses after release. Medical staffing at the facility is contracted in part through Quality Correctional Care, a private correctional healthcare provider used across Indiana county jails. Under the federal Death in Custody Reporting Act, monitored in the state by Indiana's Criminal Justice Institute, the sheriff's office and coroner are required to formally report Rose's death for state and federal tracking.
Investigators have not indicated when autopsy or toxicology results might be finalized. The Boone County Coroner's Office has said only that further updates will come as permitted under Indiana law.
