Four Putnam County Jail inmates were transported to the hospital Monday morning (8/14/23). According to a Press Release from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, at 5:51am, EMS was called to the jail for a suspected Fentanyl overdose. Inmates Donny Ray Woodard, Christopher Chance-Ray Woodard, Barry Kyle Summers, and Robert Walker Scearse were all transported to Cookeville Regional Medical Center for treatment of a suspected overdose. It was later determined by medical staff that Scearse did not overdose but was treated for anxiety. At the time of this release, Robert Scearse, Donny Woodard, and Christopher Woodard have all been released from the hospital and are back at the Putnam County Jail. Summers, however, was admitted into the hospital. It is suspected that a fifth inmate who was arrested in the early morning hours of Monday smuggled in the illegal drugs through a body cavity. That inmate is suspected of sharing the drugs with the other inmates. This is still an ongoing investigation and charges are expected to follow.
On July 13th, eight female inmates were hospitalized after they are believed to have overdosed on a heroin/fentanyl mixture inside the jail. They were charged with Simple Possession/Casual Exchange.
