BATON ROUGE, La. – An East Baton Rouge Parish pretrial inmate being housed at Louisiana State Penitentiary has died at the prison today. Tyler Ashpaugh was found unresponsive in his single-man cell around 6:43 this morning. While making routine rounds, correctional officers ordered Ashpaugh to the cell bars. When he failed to respond, staff opened the cell, found Ashpaugh unresponsive, and immediately initiated life saving measures. Prison EMS transported Ashpaugh to the Louisiana State Penitentiary infirmary, where treatment continued and he was eventually pronounced dead.

At the request of the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney, Sheriff, and Ashpaugh’s counsel, the Department of Corrections has housed Ashpaugh as a pretrial inmate since September 8, 2015. He was originally held at Dixon Correctional Institute until January 12, 2021, when he was transferred to Louisiana State Penitentiary. Upon request of the district attorney or sheriff, the Department of Corrections will house high-profile pretrial inmates on a case by case basis.

Louisiana State Penitentiary has launched an investigation. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death. At this time, no further details are available.

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