Arthur Bankston II
Arthur Bankston II, 53, of Zion, died at the Lake County Jail in Waukegan on December 31, 2024. According to the sheriff's office, a guard found him unresponsive in his cell around 9:30 p.m., and he had told jail officials he had a terminal underlying health condition. Medical staff and Waukegan firefighters tried to save him, but a doctor pronounced him dead. A coroner's jury ruled the death an accident caused by fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, while the sheriff's office says there was no evidence he used drugs in custody and cannot rule out that he hid drugs on his body during admission.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose. A coroner's jury ruled the death an accident caused by fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, and the sheriff's office says there was no evidence he used drugs in custody.
Reported by: Coroner's jury inquest (medical examiner or coroner); Lake County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him).
News reports (4)
- Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Death in Custody Reports (edition of 2026-07-28)
- Investigation underway after inmate found dead in cell at Lake County Jail in Waukegan
- Law & Order column: Inmate found dead in Lake County jail cell
- Jury rules inmate died from drug overdose while being held in Lake County Jail in Waukegan