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The cellmate of the man who died at the Utah State Prison this week is suspected but not charged in his death, police say.
James C. Corbett, 33, who was set to be released from prison on Sept. 9, was found unresponsive in his cell about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday after an assault, according to a news release from the Utah Department of Corrections. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. Thursday.
Corbett, staying at the prison's Olympus facility in Draper designated for inmates with mental health needs, was serving consecutive terms of up to five years for two counts of attempted sexual abuse of a child.
Following the alleged assault Wednesday, responders noted removing a cellmate from the area before attempting CPR on Corbett. Timothy Patrick Maez, 38, was sharing the cell with Corbett and is a suspect, according to Unified Police. No charges have been filed, though.
Maez has been "in and out of prison" since 1999, the news release states. His most recent incarceration — a sentence of one to 15 years — began in June 2014 after Maez pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated kidnapping, a second-degree felony. He was given two subsequent sentences in 2015 — on separate cases — for propelling a substance at a correctional officer and retaliation against a judge or Board of Pardons and Parole member.
Maez's criminal history includes charges dating back to 1996 for burglary, theft, absconding, shoplifting and simple assault. In February 2007, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault by a prisoner, a second-degree felony. His next appearance before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole was set for May 2019.
An autopsy was being conducted to determine the exact cause of Corbett's death.
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