A federal inmate died while in custody Saturday at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Billy Joe Soliz, 37, was pronounced dead by emergency medical services at the medium-security prison, the agency said in a news release.
Soliz was serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted of possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute in the Southern District of Texas. He was scheduled to be released in June 2022.
He was found unresponsive in his cell about 3:15 a.m., the statement said. Staff performed life-saving measures to no avail, and he was pronounced dead by emergency medical services.
The FBI was notified of the death, officials said.
A GoFundMe page was set up to assist with funeral expenses.
In August, 31-year-old Robert Snipes was found unresponsive at the same facility. Snipes, who was serving a six-year prison sentence for robbing a bank in Illinois, was taken to a hospital, where he died. Authorities did not release a cause of death in that case.
One month earlier, inmate Eugene Griffin died after being taken to a hospital for tachycardia and hypoxia, the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a release. While there, the 80-year-old tested positive for COVID-19. He died Aug. 7. He was serving a life sentence for possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute by a felon, authorities said. He had been at the Atlanta facility since 1998.
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