Murphy – A Cherokee County Detention Center inmate has died while in custody.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Joe Wood confirmed the death of John Mark Armbruster, 71, on the night of Dec. 2.
Armbruster was sentenced to 45 days in jail in Cherokee County Superior Court on Nov. 17, reporting to jail the following day at an agreed-upon time. Armbruster was placed in the jail’s medical unit immediately after arriving due to a litany of pre-existing medical conditions prior to being transported.
He was was transported to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., by helicopter on the afternoon of Nov. 22, as he slipped into and out of consciousness. He died there in a regular room at about 8:40 p.m., after appearing to be recovering.
Wood said Armbruster died after asphyxiating bodily fluids. He was subject to a do not resuscitate order at the time of his death.
Wood added that Armbruster was sentenced for sexual battery after an incident with an inmate he was taking to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree while employed as a transport officer in Clay County.
Sexual battery is considered a Class A1 misdemeanor in the State of North Carolina, with up to 150 days in jail as punishment, as well as being required to register as a sex offender.