Oct 23, 2012 3 min read

It was one year Monday since a North Strabane Township man died in Washington County Jail of a drug overdose, and there still has been no resolution of the investigation into his death, specifically how 35-year-old Corey Adams obtained the drug that killed him.”It remains under investigation,” said First Assistant District Attorney Michael Lucas, who along with Washington police Lt. Dan Stanek, has been working on the case since since Adams’ death Oct. 22, 2011.Lucas refused to further comment.Adams was serving a one-to-two-year jail sentence for a third drunken-driving conviction. He was serving his sentence on work release, which permitted him to leave daily to go to his job.Adams returned to the jail from work release shortly after 8 p.m. Oct. 21. He was last seen alive about 9:45 p.m., lying on his bunk, although an inmate and corrections officer reported hearing him snoring early the next morning. About 11:30 a.m. the next day, an inmate found Adams unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 1:47 p.m. by Coroner Tim Warco.The coroner called for an inquest into Adams’ death. However, Warco did not preside at the inquest, citing his close relationship with Adams and his family, including his mother, Washington County Court Administrator Chris Weller.Warco instead asked former Washington County and appellate court judge Richard DiSalle to take charge of the inquest, which resulted in a jury’s finding that the jail did not follow procedures to protect the safety of its prisoners.Former District Attorney Steven Toprani presented the commonwealth’s case to the coroner’s jury since his replacement, District Attorney Eugene Vittone, had just taken office in January.Stanek testified at the inquest that Adams apparently drank alcohol before returning to the jail from work release. Some inmates told of how Opana, a powerful painkiller, was accessible in the jail and how Adams obtained some from a specific person, but Stanek would not divulge the name of that person.At the inquest, Warden Joseph Pelzer rejected Stanek’s statements and said guards working that night had no clue Adams was intoxicated.Forensic pathologist Abdulrezzak Shakir testified Adams had a lethal level of Opana in his system, and that his 0.059 percent blood-alcohol content escalated the absorption of the drug.Attorney Christopher Blackwell said after the inquest that he planned to file a federal suit on behalf of the family over Adams’ death. Blackwell could not be reached Monday to comment.