ELYRIA — A Lorain County Jail inmate who had been released Friday morning returned later that day and was found passed out in a public restroom stall in the jail with a syringe next to him.
Michael Wallhead, 35, was taken to EMH Medical Center in Elyria, where he was treated and released and then returned to the jail, according to the jail’s administrator, Capt. Jack Hammond.
Wallhead, who has convictions on charges ranging from drug possession and DUI to breaking and entering and receiving stolen property, was picked up on a warrant and booked into the jail at 4:22 a.m. Friday.
He was released around 11 a.m., but returned to the jail in the evening to check on whether his wife, Laura Wallhead, who was being held on unrelated charges, had been released, Hammond said.
Around 7:30 p.m., an inmate returning from work release found Michael Wallhead in the stall, according to reports.
The inmate told deputies that while he was washing his hands he heard “odd breathing” coming from behind the stall door, looked underneath and saw Wallhead.
The inmate then reported what he found to jail personnel working at the front desk, and they sent a deputy and the jail’s nurses to check on Wallhead.
Deputy Eric Gregus wrote that Wallhead was found lying on his left side. Although unresponsive, Gregus wrote that Wallhead had a pulse, was warm to the touch and made a “deep breathing noise” every 10 seconds.
The syringe may have been used to shoot heroin, Hammond said.
Wallhead was charged with possession of drug abuse instruments and is due back in Elyria Municipal Court in that case later this month.
The report said that Wallhead’s wife had been turned over to Sheffield police shortly before Wallhead was found.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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