IOWA CITY, Iowa (KWWL) A prison inmate from the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility has died from COVID-19 complications, becoming the 14th Iowa prison inmate to die from the virus.
Jessie Joseph Gonzales was pronounced dead at approximately 4:55 p.m. Thursday at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He had been serving a 25-year sentence for Distribution of Schedule 1 or 2 Controlled Substance to a Person Under 18 out of Polk County.
His sentence began on February 25, 2020. Gonzales was 67 years old at the time of his death.
Gonzales is the fourth inmate from the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility to die from COVID-19 complications. The Anamosa State Penitentiary has seen the most inmates die from COVID-19, with 6 inmates dying from the virus.
At 10 a.m. Friday, Iowa reported another 2,060 cases of COVID-19 and 59 additional COVID-19-related deaths including two more in Johnson County since the state s tally at 10 a.m. Thursday, according to Coronavirus.Iowa.gov.
Officials report a total of 4,124 people with COVID-19 have died from the disease across the state, including 49 in Johnson County. The first death here was reported April 4.
A total of 1,386,209 Iowans have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, which causes the disease, including 66,368 in Johnson County. A total of 293,454 have tested positive in Iowa. The state has reported a total of 11,542 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Johnson County, an increase of 57 since 10 a.m. Thursday.