No charges expected in overdose death of man accused of killing girls in crash

Jan. 19—The Montgomery County Sheriff said his office is close to finishing both an internal jail investigation and criminal investigation into the accidental overdose death of an inmate who was charged with a fatal crash that killed two 6-year-old girls.

Sheriff Rob Streck said it is believed by investigators that an inmate was able to smuggle the drugs that killed Raymond Walters, 34, into the jail by putting them in a "very private area," but there is not enough evidence to pursue charges.

He also said that his deputies did a good job responding to Walters after they were alerted that he needed help.

Walters was an inmate at the Montgomery County Jail on Nov. 16 when he overdosed and died of methamphetamine intoxication. His death was ruled an accident, according to a Montgomery County Coroner's report.

Correctional staff noticed Walters was behaving erratically earlier that day and removed him for a medical assessment. He was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

Walters was accused of stabbing his father on Aug. 26, 2019, and stealing and crashing his father's truck. He then reportedly stole a Riverside police cruiser before crashing into another vehicle outside the Dayton Metro Library in downtown Dayton. The crash killed two 6-year-old girls, Penelope Jasko and Eleanor McBride.

Walters was scheduled to go to trial in March but since he died the case was dismissed.

Streck said his office is always fighting drugs getting into the jail. The facility's security was upgraded recently to prevent people from passing contraband to inmates at the recreation area of the jail. He also said the office uses a body scanner to search for contraband and is constantly working to make sure everyone who is employed inside is trustworthy.

But, he said there are limits to the type of searches county jail employees can do to incoming inmates compared to a state prison employee.

"The jail is just a smaller mirror of our community," Streck said. "We obviously know that we have a very large problem with substance abuse in our county and it's just a constant battle trying to keep those drugs out of jail."