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Police probe Md. man’s death in western Pa. jail

By WTOP Staff

BEDFORD, Pa. (AP) — State police are investigating the death of a Maryland man in a western Pennsylvania jail.

Authorities said 43-year-old Mark Cook of Ellerslie, Maryland was awaiting a court hearing Tuesday when he died of an apparent health problem in the Bedford County Correctional Facility.

Warden David Kessling told The (Altoona) Mirror (http://bit.ly/1ouU0Kl ) that Cook was in the recreation yard with other inmates when he reported trouble breathing and asked for medical help.

Kessling said Cook collapsed while waiting for a nurse, who was in another wing. The county coroner pronounced him dead at the jail.

Kessling declined to describe Cook’s health but said he may have had prior medical problems.

Online court documents indicated that he was arrested in April on charges of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

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Information from: Altoona Mirror, http://www.altoonamirror.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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