Investigation continues after inmate's fentanyl overdose death at regional jail

WENATCHEE — A 53-year-old Entiat man who was found unresponsive at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center in April died from acute fentanyl intoxication, according to the Chelan County Coroner's Office.

Coroner Earl Crowe recently announced that Scott A. Glass died of acute fentanyl intoxication and ruled the death an accident after receiving the autopsy report on June 22.

Glass had been incarcerated at the county jail since January. According to the Chelan County Regional Justice Center, corrections deputies found him unresponsive in his bed in a general population housing unit at approximately 5:30 a.m. on April 26. Deputies immediately began lifesaving efforts, which were continued by responders from Wenatchee Valley Fire Department and Ballard Ambulance after they arrived at the facility. Glass was later pronounced dead.

The Wenatchee Police Department is continuing to investigate the death. Because the investigation remains active, jail officials said they would not provide additional comment.

The coroner's findings leave unanswered questions about how fentanyl reached an inmate who had been housed at the facility for approximately three months. Investigators have not released information regarding how Glass obtained the drug.

In a frequently asked questions document released alongside the coroner's announcement, jail officials described several ways narcotics can enter correctional facilities. According to the county, people have attempted to smuggle drugs by concealing them in body cavities, hiding them in clothing, consuming them during arrest, receiving drug-soaked mail and arranging for contraband to be passed through broken windows from outside the facility. The county did not indicate which, if any, of those methods may be connected to Glass' death.

The FAQ notes that many of the methods cited by jail officials involve attempts to bring narcotics into the facility at or near the time of booking. Glass, however, had been incarcerated since January before his death in April. The source of the fentanyl remains unknown publicly while the investigation continues.

The county's FAQ also describes multiple anti-smuggling measures, including a body scanner, digital mail screening and a narcotics-detection K-9 trained to detect fentanyl and other drugs that routinely searches mail and housing units. Investigators have not publicly explained how Glass obtained fentanyl while incarcerated.

County officials say the jail faces growing challenges related to addiction, mental illness and detoxification. According to the facility, approximately 60 percent of people booked into the jail report using drugs or alcohol within 48 hours of incarceration, and 60 to 70 percent of new bookings are initially housed in medical sensor cells because of detox concerns.

The jail has expanded medical and monitoring resources in recent years, including 24-hour nursing coverage, a narcotics-detection K-9, a body scanner, digital mail screening and 68 medical sensors that monitor changes in breathing and heart rate. Officials said corrections staff administered Narcan to save 12 people in 2025 and conducted approximately 2,000 withdrawal protocol assessments.

According to county data, seven people have died while incarcerated at the Chelan County jail since 1992. During that period, the facility recorded 175,662 bookings. County officials said four of those deaths were ruled suicides and three were related to pre-existing health conditions.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media