Two men charged in Bradley County inmate fentanyl death
BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has arrested and charged two men for the fentanyl death of an inmate.
Jonathan Bankston / Bradley County Jail
Authorities found Eric Means unresponsive in his jail cell on July 10, 2023. He died from a fentanyl overdose, the sheriff’s office explained.
They began investigating and determined that Jonathan Bankston, 35, brought many fentanyl pills into the jail when he was arrested on July 9. He was selling the pills within the jail, according to authorities.
The sheriff’s office said that Jonathan Hilliard, 31, was working as a trusty in the jail when he took one of Bankston’s pills and gave it to Means.
Jonathan Hilliard / Bradley County Jail
A grand jury then indicted Bankston and Hilliard, charging them with the following.
- Manufacture, sale or delivery of schedule II drug.
- Schedule II drug in a penal institution.
- Second-degree murder.
Both Hilliard and Bankston are now booked in the Bradley County Jail as of Tuesday, January 9.
