'I want to know:' Family wants answers after inmate found dead in Harnett County

An inmate in the Harnett County Detention Center was found dead in his cell on Monday while serving a 30-day sentence for violating probation for a DWI charge.

The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office says 64-year-old William Surles was found in his bunk. Some of his family members say they feel investigators have not been forthcoming with them about Surles' death.

Lawanda Snead, Surles' daughter, says she was looking forward to picking up her father next Thursday, Dec. 29, after completing his sentence.

She and others claim investigators aren’t answering their questions about how Surles died – and have heard stories that make them concerned.

“I got calls from people that are in there that called some of my other relatives that said he was beaten," she said. "And somebody that worked there said that one day when she was taking my father out, she noticed his eyes was swollen."

Family members said Surles was diabetic, but they don’t think that caused his death.

"If he died of natural causes, I'm fine with that," says Snead. "But if it's something else, I want to know. And I want justice."

In response to these claims from family, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office is waiting on autopsy results and the SBI report before commenting further.

This week they responded in part; “Sheriff Wayne Coats has requested the NC State Bureau of Investigation investigate this case. Harnett County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a parallel investigation to ensure all policies and procedures were followed.”

Not the first inmate death questioned by families

WRAL News has covered at least four deaths in the Harnett County jail since 2011. In three cases, family members questioned the sheriff's office.

The county eventually reached a $350,000 settlement with the family of Brandon Bethea, who died in custody in 2011 after being shocked with a taser.

"Certainly someone getting killed and dying in the sheriff’s custody is a real problem," says Daniel Meier, a defense attorney who is not tied to this case. "It’s his job to keep the detainees safe – period."

Meier says certain questions need to be addressed, like:

• Were there warning signs?
• Did this person have mental health challenges?
• Were they bunked with someone potentially violent or did this come out of left field?
• Were policies violated?
• Were officers doing enough rounds?

"How old is this jail? How old are the facilities? It might be overcrowding, it might be the way it was designed," says Meier.

He points out that if you double or triple bunk inmates, then officers have to do more rounds.

"You have to make sure they are within eye sight, and especially in this case," he says. "If it’s potentially someone with mental issues, what precautions and what did they have there to safeguard people from that?"

He believes staffing issues are causing strain in inmates as well as employees.

"I think you’re definitely seeing a big uptick of issue with inmates, because staffing is critical everywhere, and when you have less staff, not only do you have less people monitoring and watching what’s going on, the inmates are locked a lot back more. They are put in their cells a lot more. There’s probably a lot of frustration, a lot of anger, just a lot more unease," he says.

Meier says that whenever a person dies in custody, there was a breakdown somewhere – it's just a question of where.

In the meantime, Snead says she'll never stop fighting for the truth about what happened to her father.

"I just feel like they’re not giving me the answers I want," says Snead. "I’m not getting any answers. I’m just told it’s under investigation. What is under investigation? That’s what I want to know."

The family tells WRAL News they are in the process of hiring a lawyer – and making funeral arrangements for Surles.