WAVY.com

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — An inmate at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center died at the hospital on Friday after suffering a medical emergency, according to the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office says 52-year-old Larry Wayne Forbes lost consciousness shortly after 11 a.m. when he was preparing to be taken to a state mental health hospital. He was immediately given CPR, per the sheriff’s office, and was taken to the hospital, where he later died at 12:13 p.m.


Larry Wayne Forbes

He was booked into the jail on June 10 on one misdemeanor charge of assaulting a family member and was denied bond. The sheriff’s office says he refused a medical screening and was placed in a single cell under direct observation and detoxification protocol. They say he also completed a mandatory 10-day COVID-19 quarantine.

“No one should die in jail, and this is yet another tragic example of a man who needed to be in a mental health facility, not a jail cell. We were doing everything we could to provide Mr. Forbes with the care he needed. Unfortunately, that help did not come soon enough, as we just received the necessary order to transfer him to a mental health hospital today,” said Sheriff Ken Stolle. “As with any in-custody death, I will thoroughly investigate what occurred, and my sincere condolences go out to the Forbes family for their loss.”

The cause of death has yet to be determined, but Forbes’ body was taken to the medical examiner in Norfolk. No foul play is suspected.