JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — First Coast News is learning more about the Duval County Jail inmate who died in custody this week. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said 64-year-old Renae Ray Carter was found dead Tuesday in his isolated cell.
Officials said his cause of death is undetermined and under investigation, but they believe he may have had a medical episode.
In Sept. and Oct. 2022, he was arrested twice for trespassing and defying orders to leave a medical business.
Later the charges against him were dropped, and he was ordered to go to a mental health facility for an examination both times by judges.
Carter is the 15th inmate to die in custody at the jail in 2023. He was homeless, according to reports from JSO.
Sulzbacher Center CEO Cindy Funkhouser said it's common for homeless people to have medical and mental health issues.
"It can happen to anybody,” Funkhouser said, “and that's what people need to understand, but once it does happen, then people spiral quickly because being on the street is extremely difficult and traumatic. If you're already sick, you get sicker."
In September of this year, Carter was cited for trespassing and refusing to leave a Walmart on Normandy Boulevard.
Officers arrested him again on Nov. 22 for trespassing at a dentist's office, where the complainant showed police a photo of him taking a nap inside.
The report says almost two weeks before, police were called to the same location about Carter and warned him not to go on the property again.
Funkhouser said more people are experiencing homelessness because of the rent hikes in Jacksonville.
"We are seeing more and more people coming into the pipeline,” Funkhouser said, “particularly women and families coming into the pipeline, and we just really do not have enough resources from the housing perspective."
She encourages anyone struggling with homelessness to use the day center Downtown across from the jail.
"They have a place to go where they can get showers, where they can get meals, where they can get job counseling,” Funkhouser said. “We have all of our health clinics behind us."
Carter’s arraignment was scheduled for next Tuesday.