Richland County Jail inmate Candice Crose, 32, dies Sunday after arriving at hospital

Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal
Updated ·3 min read
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A 32-year-old Mansfield woman was pronounced dead Sunday at 9:52 a.m. at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital after being transported from the Richland County Jail where she was incarcerated, according to Richland County Coroner's Investigator Bob Ball.

"Yesterday morning around 9 a.m., corrections staff and medical staff responded to a medical emergency in housing unit 3C11 involving inmate Candice Crose," said Richland County Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon in a news release Monday. "Life-saving measures were performed by the staff but unfortunately Crose died at the hospital shortly after arriving. As is custom practice, an investigation is on-going."

Mansfield Fire Department fire and EMS were called to the jail Sunday at 9:09 a.m.

Ball said Crose's body will be taken to Montgomery County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy.

No further information was provided by the sheriff in the release.

Richland County Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon is investigating the death of a Richland County Jail inmate at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital shortly after being transported there from the Richland County Jail Sunday morning. Candice Crose, 32, of Mansfield, died at 9:52 a.m. at OhioHealth, the Richland County Coroner's Office said.
Richland County Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon is investigating the death of a Richland County Jail inmate at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital shortly after being transported there from the Richland County Jail Sunday morning. Candice Crose, 32, of Mansfield, died at 9:52 a.m. at OhioHealth, the Richland County Coroner's Office said.

According to Richland County Common Pleas Court online records, Crose pleaded guilty to one count of escape, a felony of the fifth degree, on Feb. 20. She was sentenced to 12 months at at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville by Common Pleas Judge Phil Naumoff on April 11.

Capt. Chris Blunk, jail administrator, Monday said Crose came to the Richland County Jail on Feb. 5. She had been incarcerated 20 times at the jail beginning in 2009, he said.

A gofundme was started for Crose by organizer Sheila Lambert.

"Hey everyone, we are so sad to even be doing this right now ... My daughter Candice (candi) Crose was found unresponsive this morning while incarcerated at the Richland county jail. We are unaware of what happened as I was given limited information. ... We are trying to raise money to give her a beautiful service and give her friends and family and children a chance to say goodbye and acknowledge all the life candi brought to all of us. We are so deeply hurt by this and not knowing why she isn't here is taking us to a new level of grief. Please help us lay our beautiful girl candice to rest," the gofundme post said.

Maggie J. Copeland, 29, of Mansfield, is seen unresponsive as she is taken on a gurney from the Richland County Jail on May 11, 2022 in this jail security footage. She was pronounced dead less than a half hour later at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.
Maggie J. Copeland, 29, of Mansfield, is seen unresponsive as she is taken on a gurney from the Richland County Jail on May 11, 2022 in this jail security footage. She was pronounced dead less than a half hour later at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.

Recent Richland County Jail death lawsuits

Three federal lawsuits have been filed in connection to the deaths of inmates Alexander Rios, Maggie Copeland and Zachary Marshall at the Richland County Jail.

Copeland, 29, of Mansfield, was found unresponsive at 7:08 a.m. May 11, 2022, lying naked with her hair cut off, with vomit coming out of her mouth. She was pronounced dead 34 minutes later at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. Copeland's cause of death was listed as dehydration with renal failure, according to her autopsy report from the Montgomery County Medical Examiner's Office. The death was contributed to by drug abuse, the report indicates.

Lacee Bowersox, sister of the late Zachary Marshall, 35, of Bucyrus, said family found Zach at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital after he was transported there on Dec. 18, 2021 from Richland County Jail. Zach died Dec. 22, 2021. A federal lawsuit was filed Nov. 23, 2023.
Lacee Bowersox, sister of the late Zachary Marshall, 35, of Bucyrus, said family found Zach at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital after he was transported there on Dec. 18, 2021 from Richland County Jail. Zach died Dec. 22, 2021. A federal lawsuit was filed Nov. 23, 2023.

In 2023, a federal lawsuit was filed against Richland County Jail medical staff − Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc. − over a Bucyrus man's death. Marshall, 35, died Dec. 22, 2021, in the intensive care unit. Marshall was diagnosed at the hospital with sepsis.

"Because defendants' actions and inactions had allowed his condition to become so severe, doctors were unable to save Zach," the lawsuit, filed Nov. 27, 2023, in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, in Cleveland, said.

In January, the News Journal reported the Ohio Attorney General's Office is taking over the case of a former Richland County corrections officer accused of causing the death of Rios.

Mark Cooper listens to opening statements on the first day of his trial.
Mark Cooper listens to opening statements on the first day of his trial.

Mark Cooper, 56, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one a first-degree felony, the other a third-degree felony; and reckless homicide, a third-degree felony, the News Journal reported.

Cooper's charges are in connection with the death of Alexander Rios, 28, after the inmate was subdued by several corrections officers Sept. 19, 2019. Rios was in the county jail on a warrant.

Alexander Rios is shown on a ventilator at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. Rios, 28, of Wakeman, was involved in a altercation with corrections officers Sept. 19, 2019, at the Richland County Jail. He never regained consciousness, his stepfather Don Mould said, and died Sept. 27, 2019.
Alexander Rios is shown on a ventilator at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. Rios, 28, of Wakeman, was involved in a altercation with corrections officers Sept. 19, 2019, at the Richland County Jail. He never regained consciousness, his stepfather Don Mould said, and died Sept. 27, 2019.

The case is being retried this week in Richland County Common Pleas Court. In December, a jury could not reach a verdict in the case, prompting Robinson to declare a mistrial.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Woman transported from Richland County Jail dies at OhioHealth