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Candy Prompted Fatal Jail Fight, Sheriff Says

A fight over candy led to the death of a Vance County inmate last weekend, the sheriff said Wednesday.

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Vance County Inmate Dead, Fellow Inmate Charged With Murder
HENDERSON, N.C. — A fight over candy led to the death of a Vance County inmate last weekend, the sheriff said Wednesday.

A detention officer found Charles Cleveland Dillard, 52, semi-conscious on the bottom bunk of his cell Saturday afternoon. Dillard was taken to Maria Parham Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Another inmate, Curtis W. Coley, 34, of 49 Ridge Path Lane, has been charged with second-degree murder in Dillard's death.

Vance County Sheriff Peter White said the inmates were fighting over candy. He placed some of the blame for the altercation on jail overcrowding, noting too many inmates are awaiting trial.

Coley was awaiting trial on charges of obtaining property by false pretense, misdemeanor larceny, second-degree trespass and failure to pay child support. Dillard had been incarcerated since Dec. 1, awaiting trial on charges of felony possession of stolen goods.

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