An inmate has died at the United States Penitentiary in Beaumont with just one-quarter of his sentence remaining.
Michael Fossler, 33, was found unresponsive around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from the U. S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons.
“Responding staff arrived and initiated life-saving measures,” the release stated. “Staff requested emergency medical services and life-saving efforts continued.”
Fossler was taken by EMS to a local hospital for life-threatening injuries and was subsequently pronounced dead on Thursday by hospital staff, the release said.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified,” the release said. “No staff or other inmates were injured, and at no time was the public in danger.”
Fossler was sentenced in the Western District of Texas to 41-months for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. He had been in custody at USP Beaumont for a month. USP Beaumont is a high-security facility that currently houses 1,359 male offenders, the release said. He already had served 30 of his 41 months, according to defense attorney Jon Evans.
According to indictment documents provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Texas Western District Office, Fossler in February 2019 was convicted of illegally possessing a Ruger, model Speed Six, .357 caliber revolver, that was “in and affecting commerce.”
While the family declined to comment at this time, Evans said Fossler had initially been assigned to a prison in El Rino, Oklahoma for the firearms conviction. He had been there for at least 2 years before he was transferred to Beaumont in mid-July.
“He was always a very pleasant young man to deal with and I am beset with sadness for this tragic event,” Evans said. “It’s a shame. It really is a shame.”
At this time, officials will not say what type of injuries Fossler had, how he was injured, and if the incident is under investigation.