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Myron Crosby, 58, was the first of more than 1,400 inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Burlington County who were diagnosed with the virus to die, U.S. Bureau of Prisons records show.
He’d been serving a 14-year federal sentence at the low-security facility since Sept. 17, 2019 on a conviction out of Maine for having and conspiring to sell heroin, the Department of Justice said in a release.
Crosby -- who had long-term, pre-existing medical conditions -- tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 28 “and was immediately placed in medical isolation,” the release says.
Crosby, of Springfield, Mass., was “transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment due to breathing difficulties” on Jan. 7, it says. “His health continued to decline after being admitted to the hospital.”
Hospital staff pronounced Crosby dead on Friday, the Justice Department said.
The Fort Dix FCI reportedly has the highest number of inmates testing positive for the coronavirus at federal facilities nationwide.
Crosby sought a compassionate release last summer, contending in court papers that his health put him at risk in a facility teeming with COVID-19. He cited kidney issues, diabetes, severe obesity and a heart attack suffered while in federal custody in 2015.
A federal judge denied the request last October, citing the “nature and seriousness of Mr. Crosby’s offense, his criminal history, and dangerousness to the community counsel against his release.”
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