Body scanner on the way for jail following overdose incidents

By Karen Wynne

Click here for updates on this story

    RUTHERFORD COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Rutherford County is about to join the growing number of North Carolina counties that now have body scanners in their jails.

The Rutherford County sheriff says the addition is much needed after two recent rounds of jailhouse overdoses.

Sheriff Chris Francis says the body scanner will arrive Wednesday, Aug. 31, and staff will train on it quickly so they can soon save lives.

Francis says the first round of fentanyl overdoses in his jail happened in January. While four users recovered, inmate Andrew Hodge passed away.

That was about the time Sheriff Francis says his department tried to purchase a body scanner.

“Fentanyl has been so deadly in such small amounts,” he says. “That’s what I have seen, that’s been the big difference in the last two years in detention facilities across the United States.”

According to Francis, the scanner, worth about $200,000, was purchased with a combination of state and county funds.

The sheriff says 13 other counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe, currently have body scanners in their jails.

“When somebody tries to hide something in a body cavity that we would not be able to locate, or they would ingest something or have something sewn into the material of their clothing as they come in,” he says.

The second round of fentanyl overdoses happened just last week.

Francis says five inmates overdosed over a two-day period. All were given Narcan.

Three were treated and released at the hospital.

Dennis Moore II and Gary Terry Jr face felony charges of possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance.

Sheriff Francis says both Moore and Terry remain in jail on a $75,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.