Guilford County Sheriff's Office investigates multiple in-custody deaths at detention centers

The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office has opened investigations after deputies found inmates unresponsive at the Greensboro detention complex, beginning with 71-year-old Tracey Johnson, whom detention staff discovered at approximately 6:53 a.m. and for whom life-saving measures were started immediately, Sheriff Danny H. Rogers said. "Emergency Medical Services arrived at the detention center at about 7:05 a.m., but despite their efforts, Johnson was pronounced dead at 7:39 a.m.," Rogers said, and GCSO detectives with the Major Crimes Investigative Unit and the local Medical Examiner have been notified.

Johnson was held at the facility under a $20,000 secured bond and, according to sheriff’s office information, was arrested on March 8 on charges that included felony habitual breaking and entering and three counts of misdemeanor attempted breaking and entering into a building; Johnson’s next of kin has been informed and officials said no foul play is suspected in that case.

Two additional in-custody deaths in late 2025 and early 2026 are also under review by the Major Crimes Unit and the Medical Examiner. Sixty-five-year-old Jimmy Wilkerson was found in medical distress inside his cell on Dec. 24, 2025, transported by detention staff to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment, and later suffered a medical episode and died on Jan. 3, 2026. Wilkerson had been arrested Dec. 23, 2025, and was being held on a driving-while-impaired charge; sheriff’s office records indicate his next of kin was with him at the time of his death.

On Jan. 6, 2026 detention staff found a 47-year-old inmate unresponsive in his assigned cell; EMS crews responded and pronounced him dead at the detention center. Sources identify the Jan. 6 decedent as 47-year-old Rice, but records differ on his given name. Arrest logs show he was processed into the detention center on Aug. 27, 2025 at 8:30 p.m. and was being held under a $50,000 secured bond on charges that include first-degree arson, resisting or obstructing an officer, four counts of malicious conduct by a prisoner and assault on a government official. Officials have not released a cause of death for the Jan. 6 case.

News releases and sheriff’s office statements describe the three episodes as separate incidents but part of a broader inquiry; the Major Crimes Investigative Unit and the local Medical Examiner are involved in each review. Officials have declined to provide final causes of death pending medical examiner findings, and GCSO has not released surveillance, medical or internal incident reports.

A partial social-media fragment reviewed by county reporters references a 44-year-old Scott Alan Fanter being transported from the Guilford County Detention Center in High Point to High Point Regional, but that post is incomplete and county officials have not linked it to the in-custody deaths under investigation. Sheriff Danny H. Rogers and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office say they will release additional information, including any medical examiner determinations and corrected booking names, as those documents become available.