Guilford County Sheriff Investigates After 44-Year-Old Dies During Transport From Detention Center

A 44-year-old man being held at the Guilford County Detention Center in High Point was transported to High Point Regional Hospital at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 23 after experiencing a medical emergency and was pronounced dead at about 2:00 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.

Media reports and the sheriff’s release identify the man as Scott Alan Fanter in one account and Scott Alan Farter in another; officials have not provided a single confirmed spelling. Records cited by the sheriff’s office show he was arrested Jan. 28 and was being held without bond on charges that included felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony attempted first-degree murder, and misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun. He was scheduled to appear in court on March 27.

Accounts differ on the inmate’s condition during transport. The sheriff’s office said, "Fanter had a pulse during transport but was pronounced dead at the hospital at approximately 2 a.m." Other reporting of the same sheriff’s office material states, "Officials said Farter lost a pulse during transport. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital around 2:00 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office."

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office has opened an internal review of the incident. "The incident is under internal review by the sheriff’s office's Professional Standards Division and the Major Crimes Investigative Unit, in accordance with agency policy. Officials said state law limits the amount of information that can be released while the investigation is ongoing," the sheriff’s office said, and it also confirmed that the decedent’s next of kin has been notified.

No cause of death, medical-record details, EMS run reports, or hospital treatment notes have been released. "No additional details about the medical condition or circumstances leading up to Fanter’s death were immediately available," the sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office has not announced whether the county medical examiner will perform an autopsy or the expected timeline for any post-mortem findings.

This High Point death arrives amid other recent in-custody deaths in Guilford County this winter. In early January, 65-year-old Jimmy Wilkerson died after experiencing medical distress; authorities said he had been arrested Dec. 23 on a driving-while-impaired charge. A separate inmate, identified as Jason Rice (also reported as Nathaniel Rice), 47, was found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead in early January after an Aug. 27 arrest. In a different Greensboro case, 71-year-old Tracey Johnson was found unresponsive at about 6:53 a.m., firefighters and detention staff began life-saving measures, EMS arrived about 7:05 a.m., and he was pronounced dead at 7:39 a.m.; Johnson had been arrested on charges including felony habitual breaking and entering and held on a $20,000 secured bond.

The sheriff’s office has said state law constrains public details while the review is active; the March 27 court date remains on record for the defendant, and officials have not released an autopsy or medical examiner timetable.