Autopsy Fails to Reveal Why Benton County Inmate Died in Jail

An autopsy performed on an 18-year-old inmate in the Benton County jail failed to produce any specific causes of death. Mark Anthony Moreno was found dead in a suicide protective cell around 7:30am last Friday morning.

He was found lying on the floor in the cell during one of regular 30-minute check-ins performed by jail staff on inmates who are in the cell, commonly used for inmates on suicide watch or those who exhibit dangerous behavior to others or themselves.

Officials now say he was arrested March 3 at the Crisis Response Unit while seeking help for mental health issues. His family claims he is bi-polar and schizophrenic. Benton County officials say Crisis Unit workers called police after Moreno allegedly exhibited aggressive or threatening behavior.  He was found to have multiple outstanding warrants in both counties, and was arrested. A documented gang member, officials say he also was displaying similar behavior during his arrest and in jail, but force was not used during his arrest.

The Coroner's office is awaiting the results of toxicology and other sample tests, which hopefully will shed light on why Moreno died. Suicide has largely been ruled out, in part because inmates in the protective cells don't have access to any objects with which they could hurt themselves. Officials also said there were no obvious signs of trauma.