An Alaska inmate being held at a private prison in Colorado was found unresponsive in his cell early Monday and pronounced dead in an ambulance, Alaska corrections officials said. They identified him as Wesley Shandy, 44, who was serving a 19-year sentence for a drunken four-wheeler wreck in 2005 that killed his fiance.
Colorado authorities are investigating the death at Hudson Correctional Facility, which houses about 900 Alaska felons. Garland Armstrong, director of institutions for the Alaska Department of Corrections, also is going to Colorado to investigate, said Richard Schmitz, spokesman for the Alaska agency.
The prison was built by Cornell Companies Inc., which recently merged with another private prison provider, The GEO Group Inc.
A representative of the Colorado Department of Corrections did not return calls or e-mails Monday. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which is assisting the agency, sent a forensics team Monday, CBI spokesman Lance Clem said.
By LISA DEMER
ldemer@adn.com