A man being held at D.C.’s Central Cell Block died in the early hours of Monday morning, according to the Department of Corrections. Officials identified the man as Antonio Dockery.

Separate from the D.C. Jail, the Central Cell Block (also overseen by DOC) is where individuals are held after an arrest as they await a court appearance. The D.C. Police and DOC are investigating Dockery’s death, according to DOC. A spokesperson for the department did not provide further information to DCist/WAMU on Tuesday morning, and a spokesperson for MPD did not have additional details to share. An incident report confirms officers arrived at CCB around 3:22 a.m. to respond to the call of an unconscious person.

Security personnel found Dockery unresponsive in his cell around 3:15 a.m. Monday morning, according to a statement from DOC. D.C. Fire and EMS responders administered “life-saving care,” according to DOC. Dockery was pronounced dead about an hour later, around 4:10 a.m.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine a cause of death, the results of which are still pending, according to an OCME spokesperson.

Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who chairs the council committee that oversees DOC, said she was made aware of Dockery’s death on Monday.

“I am working with DOC to determine whether all proper procedure was followed before, during, and after the death,” Pinto said in a statement to DCist/WAMU on Tuesday morning. “My sincere condolences go out to the loved ones of the individual.”

Dockery is at least the third person to die in DOC custody this year. In January, Stephen Bragg collapsed in the reception center of the D.C. Jail, according to DOC. He was transported to George Washington University Hospital, and the medical examiner’s office determined he died of natural causes. According to OCME, Bragg had a blood clot. In July, 24-year-old Marktwan Hargraves died at the D.C. Jail. According to DOC, Hargraves was found unresponsive in his cell. D.C. Jail medical staff administered Narcan, the overdose reversal drug, and CPR, but Hargraves was pronounced dead around 2:30 a.m. Hargraves was at the jail awaiting trial for the killing of 6-year-old Nyiah Courtney. She was fatally shot in 2021 in Southeast D.C.

In 2022, eight people died in DOC custody. Previously, the department did not proactively release notices of deaths at their facilities, but following WAMU/DCist inquiries into deaths at the jail, DOC started posting press releases after people died in their custody. D.C. Council legislation that went into effect in May of this year also implemented reporting requirements for the jail; DOC is required to notify D.C. officials about deaths at the jail within 24 hours, and also requires written notification of in-custody deaths on its website no later than three days after the death, and no sooner than 24 hours after they notify the deceased person’s next of kin. DOC is also required to make information public about the deceased person, including name, gender, race, ethnicity, and a description of the circumstances surrounding the death.

For years, oversight bodies, advocates, and residents have raised alarms about conditions at the Central Cell Block. In a D.C. Council oversight hearing this year, residents who spent time at CCB and criminal justice advocates testified to the lack of proper medical treatment, food, and air conditioning at CCB.