Autopsy report rules that Jasper City Jail’s inmate death was caused by drug overdose

JASPER, TX (KTRE) - An autopsy report ruled that the man who died while he was in custody at the Jasper City Jail on Jan. 30 died as a result of a methamphetamine/amphetamine overdose.

The manner of Steven Mitchell Qualls’ death was deemed accidental, according to a press release from the Jasper Police Department.

Qualls was found unresponsive in the Jasper City Jail’s detoxification cell on Jan. 30. Justice of the Peace Jimmy Miller pronounced Qualls dead at the jail.

“According to the autopsy report, Qualls manner of death was deemed accidental and was the result of Methamphetamine/Amphetamine toxicity (overdose),” the press release stated.

A previous story stated that EMS was called to the Jasper City Jail at about 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 30. Emergency personnel found that Qualls had “no vital signs of life.”

Jasper police reported the inmate had been booked into the jail on a public intoxication charge. He was arrested on Jan. 28 when he refused to leave the grounds of Christus Jasper Memorial Hospital after he had been discharged.

The Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office performed the autopsy on Qualls’ body, the press release stated.

The Texas Rangers investigated Quall’s death, according to a previous story.

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