A woman serving a 60-day sentence at the New Hanover County jail died Monday.
According to New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. J.J. Brewer, Judith Kay Balloon, 55, of Wilmington, died at the medical unit of the jail after she started having trouble breathing.
Staff in the medical unit administered CPR until EMS crews arrived. EMS pronounced Balloon dead at 2:11 a.m., Brewer said. Balloon suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and seizures, according to court records.
On Aug. 15, Superior Court Judge Jay D. Hockenbury sentenced Balloon to an 18-month suspended sentence for possession with intent to sell, manufacture and distribute a schedule VI controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a firearm by a felon.
As a condition of her probation, Hockenbury required Balloon to serve a 60-day active term in the New Hanover County Detention Center and pay jail fees.
Brewer said the State Bureau of Investigation and District Attorney’s Office has been notified.
The last death to take place at the New Hanover County Jail was a suicide Sept. 7, 2008.
