Man charged in officer's death dies in detention center

Monday, June 30, 2008

Man charged in officer's death dies in detention center

by Anath Hartmann | Staff Writer

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The Laurel man charged with the first-degree murder of Prince George's County Police Cpl. Richard Findley died Sunday, a spokeswoman for the county's Department of Corrections said.

Correctional officers found Ronnie L. White, 19, of Tumbleweed Run in North Laurel, at about 10:30 a.m. sitting on the floor of his cell in the Prince George's County Detention Center, unresponsive but showing no outward signs of trauma, according to a press statement.

After attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, White was transported to Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly. He was pronounced dead at 11:39 a.m.

‘‘When he checked in he did not show any signs of physical problems or mental problems,” said Vicki Duncan, a press information officer for the Prince George's County Department of Corrections. ‘‘He was what we call a high-profile inmate and we usually put those people in a unit where they're locked down for 23 hours so they don't have contact with other inmates.”

Duncan said preliminary autopsy results, which would show whether there were drugs in White's system, would be available later this week.

Previous police charges against White include first-degree assault, armed robbery and drug possession, Duncan said.

Findley, 39, of New Windsor in Carroll County, died at Laurel Regional Hospital June 27 shortly after being struck and dragged on Laurel-Bowie Road by a truck police believed to have been stolen. Findley and several other Prince George's County police officers had been watching the vehicle.

E-mail Anath Hartmann at ahartmann@gazette.net