Alaska inmate found to have died of natural causes

ANCHORAGE— Officials say an autopsy report from the state medical examiner’s office has determined that a 26-year-old inmate died of natural causes.

KTUU-TV reported that the Department of Corrections said Mavaega Brandon Tautua died at an Anchorage hospital Thursday. He had been housed at the Spring Creek Correctional Center and had been transported to Anchorage for medical treatment after he fell ill Monday.

Tautua in 2011 had been convicted of felony assault in a high-profile downtown Anchorage case.

Prosecutors said he fired shots that struck a rival gang member and a bystander.

Tautua’s death makes him the third state prisoner to die in 2016.

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