Corrections officers recognized for response to inmate overdoses

PERKINS TWP. — Four Erie County Jail corrections officers received awards Wednesday for their roles in helping save three inmates who overdosed in November.Corrections Sergeants Adam Bess and Yon Roth, and corrections Officers Jeff Doster and Hayley White were each awarded a Certificate of Merit from Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth.On the morning of Nov. 6, three inmates in the jail overdosed on what the sheriff's office suspects was an opioid substance, possibly one containing the dangerous drug fentanyl, the sheriff's office said.The four corrections officers used the overdose-reversing drug Narcan on the inmates and kept them alive until Perkins firefighters arrived and took the inmates to the hospital."They were faced with a very difficult situation," Sigwsorth said. "Those corrections officers did a fantastic job."Law enforcement said the drugs were smuggled into the jail, and are prosecuting the individuals responsible.Three people have since been indicted relating to the incident:• James Whorley, 40, of Vermilion, charged with three counts of corrupting another with drugs, each a second-degree felony, and one count of illegal conveyance of drugs onto a government facility, a third-degree felony.• Robert Ewing, 35, of Sandusky, charged with one count of complicity to illegal conveyance, a third-degree felony.• Danielle Malaniak, 29, of Lorain, charged with one count of complicity to illegal conveyance, a third-degree felony.There's also a fourth suspect in the case police are looking for, who they haven't yet identified, according to Erie County sheriff's Chief Deputy Jared Oliver.Visit our Erie County Sheriff's Office hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister(From left to right) Erie County Jail Corrections Officer Jeff Doster, Corrections Sergeant Adam Bess, Corrections Officer Hayley White, and Corrections Sergeant Yon Roth were awarded Certificates of Merit for their roles in responding to three inmates overdosing in the jail in 2019.