SANDERSON, Fla. -- An internal investigation is underway following the deaths of an inmate at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson this week, authorities told First Coast News.
On Thursday, FDLE opened a second investigation after an inmate died at Baker Re-Entry Center, which is under Baker Correctional Institute.
Inmate Antonio Gallashaw, 23, died in custody at Baker Correctional at some point Tuesday, authorities said. The Medical Examiner's Office has been called in to determine exactly how he died, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Corrections confirmed.
Gallashaw was sentenced to three years in prison on Jan. 16 for felony weapons charges, corrections records show.
A second inmate, Denis Robinson, 50, was reported dead at the Baker Re-Entry Center on Thursday, according to the Department of Corrections. Records show Robinson had been serving time for cocaine charges.
Annette Tunsil, Robinson's sister, told First Coast News she received a phone call from the chaplain about 11 a.m. Thursday. "My mother just went to the prison last week to visit him and he was a healthy young man," she said of Robinson, who had been in custody at the facility's re-entry center.
Spokesperson McKinley Lewis told First Coast News he could not comment on the manner of death for either inmate until a criminal investigation is complete. Lewis said he was working to find out how many inmate injuries had been reported at the same facility this week.
The Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are investigating. FDLE confirmed Tuesday that a death investigation was underway at the prison. A day before, the agency said it was investigating an inmate's injuries. FDLE is called in to investigate all inmate deaths.
First Coast News first started receiving a wave of reports about an inmate's death at the prison on Monday. The same day, the prison's warden, told First Coast News no one had died. On Monday and Tuesday, the Medical Examiner's Office said they had received no reports of a death at the facility that day.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections initially said Wednesday a staff member had been placed on leave in the wake of Gallashaw's death, but later clarified that he had his "wires crossed" about the incidents. In fact, he told First Coast News, no staff has been suspended or placed on leave.
No staff have been suspended or placed on leave in Robinson's death either.
First Coast News reached out to the agency as early as Monday for information on Gallashaw's death, but did not receive a response until Wednesday. On the same day, a spokesperson inquired about whether a First Coast News crew was posted outside the facility.
