Pikesville, MD – An inmate was indicted on charges connected to the death of a prison inmate following an assault May 29 in Washington County.
The suspect, Thomas Cole, 39, is charged with second-degree murder and associated assault charges according to the criminal indictment filed by the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office. He was already in custody at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown, Maryland, prior to the alleged assault.
Maryland State Police Homicide Unit Investigators conducted an investigation with assistance from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Internal Investigations Unit.
The deceased inmate Ronnie Harris, 56, was transported to a hospital after he was found unresponsive on a housing tier May 29 at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown. He died a day later.
Harris’ death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Washington, D.C. The cause of death was ruled to be blunt force trauma.