Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
An inmate found unresponsive in his cell died Sunday at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, said Chief Deputy Keith Lowery.
Detention deputies doing a routine count found inmate Manuel Angel Blanco-Garcia unresponsive in his cell, Lowery said. They contacted the center’s on-duty medical staff who assessed him. Emergency Medical Services paramedics pronounced him deceased.
Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh was notified and responded.
“Our heart-felt sympathy goes out to his family,” Fitzhugh said.
Blanco-Garcia, 20, of Nashville, was charged Friday with second-degree murder and four counts of felony possession of Schedule II drugs for resale. He was being held on $500,000 bond at the detention center.
Detective Sgt. Richard Brinkley, who is investigating with lead Detective Dennis Ward, said Blanco-Garcia was housed in a cell alone.
The EMS medical examiner investigator joined Brinkley and Ward. An autopsy by the Rutherford County Medical Examiner’s Office was requested to determine the cause of death.
