The Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney says that a man who died in the custody of the sheriff's office in May died of a drug overdose, and no charges would be filed in the case. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
On May 5th, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook that deputies had responded to a call at the Fishersville Sheetz at 3:37 a.m., where a man reportedly refused to leave the property. Deputies say they spoke with 39-year-old Stefan R. Gerencser, of Staunton, who agreed to leave the premises without incident. About an hour later, the post reads, Gerencser called 911, requesting medical assistance. First responders arrived, but Gerencser initially refused medical treatment and transportation to the hospital. According to the report, he changed his mind and was taken to Augusta Health, but then refused to stay at the hospital.
At 5:18 a.m., Gerencser was arrested for public intoxication. The sheriff's office wrote, "During the arrest, he initially refused to enter the sheriff’s office vehicle and assaulted a deputy. A brief struggle ensued before the deputy and Augusta Health security were able to secure him in the vehicle."
The post says the deputy arrived at Middle River Regional Jail at 5:45 a.m. and found Gerencser unresponsive and not breathing in his vehicle. "Jail staff immediately initiated life-saving measures, but despite their efforts, they were unsuccessful."
Since then, the case has been in the hands of the Virginia State Police for investigation. WMRA reached out to the agency in May, and were told that at the conclusion of the investigation, their findings would be turned over to the commonwealth's attorney.
Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Martin told WMRA via email on Wednesday that the state police and medical examiner agreed there was no wrongdoing, and Gerenscer died of a drug overdose.
