State says inmate died of suspected drug overdose

ANCHORAGE — A 36-year-old inmate at the Anchorage Correctional Complex died in April of a suspected drug overdose, and officials said Monday they are investigating how he had illegal drugs in jail.

Brian Pinkerton was found unresponsive in his jail cell and later pronounced dead April 21.

“We believe that Pinkerton died as a result of shooting up drugs in prison,” Alaska Department of Corrections spokesman Corey Allen-Young said, adding that they believe the cause of death was from a combination of methamphetamine and heroin.

A small pouch of heroin was found in a body cavity, and Pinkerton’s arms showed recent signs of intravenous drug use, Allen-Young said.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Dean Williams said in a release that Pinkerton’s death is exactly why an investigation continues to find out how drugs are getting into correctional institutions across Alaska.

“The trafficking of drugs is a major concern of all DOC employees, especially correctional officers tasked with maintaining safety,” he said. “Through the Professional Conduct Unit and partner law enforcement agencies, our goal is to eliminate the problem and make the institutions safer for inmates and staff.”

Last month, an Alaska Department of Corrections officer was arrested on federal drug charges. Adam Jason Spindler, 32, is suspected of a heroin-distribution plot at a state prison. Spindler was arrested after a bag he carried to Goose Creek Correctional Center near Wasilla was found to contain 1.67 grams, or about 16 doses, of heroin.

“DOC is committed to transparency, and we want the public to understand the scope of this issue,” Allen-Young said Monday. “We do think this is a problem, and we are committed to going after the problem with our partners in law enforcement and this Professional Conduct Unit.”

Pinkerton had been in the Anchorage jail on burglary and forgery charges and multiple probation violations since Jan. 8.

Pinkerton suffered from a long-term medical condition, which officials on Monday would not disclose. However, the department had said he had undergone a medical examination the day before he died, and it didn’t indicate any problems.

The corrections department had earlier said Pinkerton had spent time in a specialized medical unit but was allowed to return to the prison’s general population.

All prisoner deaths are reviewed by Alaska State Troopers and the State Medical Examiner’s Office. The corrections department also conducted an internal review.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast for the week of March 25

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, March 26, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The aging Tustumena ferry, long designated for replacement, arrives in Homer after spending the day in Seldovia in this 2010 photo. (Homer News file photo)
Feds OK most of state’s revised transportation plan, but ferry and other projects again rejected

Governor’s use of ferry revenue instead of state funds to match federal grants a sticking point.

The Shopper’s Lot is among two of downtown Juneau’s three per-hour parking lots where the cash payments boxes are missing due to vandalism this winter. But as of Wednesday people can use the free ParkSmarter app to make payments by phone. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Pay-by-phone parking for downtown Juneau debuts with few reported complaints

App for hourly lots part of series of technology upgrades coming to city’s parking facilities.

A towering Lutz spruce, center, in the Chugach National Forest is about to be hoisted by a crane Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, for transport to the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to be the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)
Tongass National Forest selected to provide 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Eight to 10 candidate trees will be evaluated, with winner taking “whistlestop tour” to D.C.

Annauk Olin, holding her daugher Tulġuna T’aas Olin, and Rochelle Adams pose on March 20, 2024, after giving a presentation on language at the Alaska Just Transition Summit in Juneau. The two, who work together at the Alaska Public Interest Research Group’s Language Access program, hope to compile an Indigenous environmental glossary. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Project seeks to gather Alaska environmental knowledge embedded in Indigenous languages

In the language of the Gwich’in people of northeastern Alaska, the word… Continue reading

The room where the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee holds its meeting sits empty on Tuesday. A presentation about an increase in the number of inmate deaths in state custody was abruptly canceled here. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Republican lawmakers shut down legislative hearing about deaths in Alaska prisons

Former commissioner: “All this will do, is it will continue to inflame passions of advocacy groups.”

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, March 25, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Employees at the Kensington Mine removing tailings from Johnson Creek on Feb. 17 following a Jan. 31 spill of about 105,000 gallons of slurry from the mine, although a report by the mine’s owners states about half slurry reached the creek 430 meters away. (Photo from report by Coeur Alaska)
Emergency fisheries assessments sought after 105,000-gallon tailings spill at Kensington Mine

Company says Jan. 31 spill poses no risk to Berners Bay habitat, but NOAA seeks federal evaluation.

Most Read