Woman, 51, dies while being held at Cook County Jail

A 51-year-old woman died Saturday while being held at the Cook County Jail on a drug possession charge.

Lavera Scott was pronounced dead at 5:28 a.m. at the jail, located in the 2600 block of South California Avenue, Cook County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said.

The circumstances of her death did not appear suspicious, Ansari said.

Autopsy results were still pending on Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A spokeswoman for the Cook County Dept. of Public Health on Saturday said the jail’s hospital, Cermak Health Services, does not comment on the health conditions or care that inmates receive.

Scott was charged in September with possession of a controlled substance and was released on a personal recognizance bond, according to court records. She failed to appear at a court hearing in November and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

She was taken into custody on the warrant in February and ordered held without bail, according to court records. She pleaded not guilty to the charge on Feb. 19.

Chicago police said she lived in the West Pullman neighborhood.