ROCK ISLAND, Illinois -- An inmate awaiting a preliminary hearing for sexual assault charges died after experiencing a medical emergency.
Todd Allen Payne, age 46, was in a dormitory-style day room with other inmates when he began experiencing medical trouble, according to Rock Island County Sheriff Gerald Bustos. It happened around 4:30 p.m. Monday, August 8, 2016 and Payne's fellow inmates called for assistance.
Payne was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement from the sheriff's department.
Payne had been booked into the Rock Island County Jail in late July, charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault and was held on $100,000 bond, said Bustos.
Court records show that Payne had a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday, August 16.
Back in 1994, when Payne was 24 years old, he pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to aggravated criminal sexual assault and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to determine Payne's cause of death.