An Alexandria man died yesterday (Thursday) at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, the second death to occur in the jail this year.
Omar Maknassi, 32, was arrested and transported to the jail on Wednesday evening (July 30), but early the following morning, a Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy found him unresponsive in the cell where he was being held, according to statements from the sheriff’s office and Fairfax County Police Department.
“The deputy immediately announced a medical emergency notifying on-site medical personnel,” the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office said. “Additional deputies and medical staff responded to the scene and began providing emergency aid.”
Responders from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were also called in to provide aid, but Maknassi was ultimately pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m., the sheriff’s office says.
An investigation of Maknassi’s death is now underway, the FCPD said today (Friday) in a news release, though the department notes that detectives “preliminarily” don’t suspect any foul play.
According to the FCPD, Maknassi had been arrested on Wednesday after police received a call for disorderly conduct at 7:55 p.m. at a business in the 8000 block of Leesburg Pike in Tysons.
“The complainant advised an adult male was harassing customers,” an FCPD spokesperson told FFXnow. “Officers located the man nearby screaming at a community member. Officers noticed the smell of alcohol on the man and took him into custody.”
Formal charges don’t appear to have been filed in the case before Maknassi’s death.
Online Fairfax County General District Court records show that Maknassi was previously arrested on June 17 for an incident that led to charges of disorderly conduct, being drunk in public, pick-pocketing $5 or more and misdemeanor assault and battery.
He was scheduled to appear in court next Monday (Aug. 4) for the public intoxication charge, while the other charges were set to be discussed at a preliminary hearing on Sept. 2. He had been released on bond.
Court records indicate that Maknassi was being represented by a public defender. FFXnow has reached out to the Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office for comment.
Another man, 32-year-old Sam Zu Yung, was reportedly found unresponsive in his cell at the adult detention center on March 31 and was pronounced dead at 6:41 p.m. that day, police and the sheriff’s office said at the time. The FCPD also said in that case that “preliminarily, foul play is not suspected.”
There have now been 16 deaths in the county jail since 2018 based on sheriff’s office news releases.
