Jail detainee found with apparent head trauma in cell dies

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities were trying to determine on Saturday if the death of a Cook County Jail detainee who was found with apparent head trauma in his cell earlier in the day was a homicide, officials said.

According to the county sheriff's department, which operates the jail in Chicago, 19-year-old Pedro Ruiz was discovered unresponsive in his cell shortly before 2 a.m. by a correctional officer.

"Officers immediately began lifesaving measures and Ruiz's cellmate was secured in handcuffs,'' sheriff's department spokesman Joseph Ryan wrote in an email. He wrote that Ruiz was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ryan said the department was conducting a death investigation, but detectives were awaiting the results of an autopsy and their own investigation to determine if Ruiz's death was a homicide. He said no charges had been filed as of Saturday afternoon.

Ruiz was ordered held at the jail without bond Friday, on charges that included attempted murder, according to Ryan.