Inmate at Polk County Jail found dead in his cell

Authorities in Polk County are investigating the death of a 53-year-old inmate Friday evening in the South County Jail in Frostproof.

Stephen Harry Grimm was pronounced dead at approximately 5:30 p.m.

According to a Polk County Sheriff's Office report the deceased was observed by detention deputies in his cell just before 5 p.m. and everything appeared to be fine. A few minutes later inmates began yelling that Grimm was not breathing.

Deputies called 9-1-1 and emergency service personnel were dispatched to the jail. The conducted life-saving measures on Grimm but were unsuccessful.

Grimm, whose last known address was in Eaton Park, had been an inmate at the facility since October 5^th. He was sentenced to 180 days behind bars on a probation violation stemming from a previous driving under the influence conviction.

Records indicate Grimm violated the terms of his probation by showing up intoxicated for a meeting with his court appointed officer.

Foul play is not suspected in is death and no trauma was visible on the body investigators say. An autopsy will be conducted to determine an exact cause of death.

When he was booked into jail in October Grimm told authorities that he suffered from a heart condition and had his spleen removed during the 1990s.

The deceased had an extensive arrest record in Polk County on a variety of charges including DUI, assault, disorderly conduct, failure to appear in court and battery.

Grimm is the fourth Polk County inmate to die in jail this year. In February Anthony Dale McKnight, 40, died following a scuffle and Robert Joseph Lorenz, 50, was found dead in his cell.

McKnight suffered a heart attack and Lorenz died of heart failure.

In May Brian George Brewer, 28, was found dead in his bed.