PORT ALLEN — West Baton Rouge deputies have added charges to an inmate at the detention center in connection to an inmate’s death. It comes after a West Baton Rouge Parish Correctional inmate died Wednesday evening, August 13, from what appears to be a drug overdose. This is the third inmate death at the correctional center this year.
Nicholas Henderson, 26, is an inmate at the West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center. Deputies say “Henderson was in possession of, and provided, a synthetic cannabinoid commonly referred to as “Mojo” to Jeremy Paul prior to Paul’s death.”
According to the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, correctional deputies discovered three male inmates having a ‘medical emergency’ around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13.
Two of the inmates were responsive and recovered, but the third inmate was unresponsive. Despite trying to save him, the inmate died. He’s been identified as 30-year-old Jeremy Paul.
Paul, who is from Baton Rouge, had been in West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s custody since September 2024. He was being house in West Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Department of Corrections, officials said.
Investigators suspect the incident may be related to a drug overdose; however, the cause of death has not been confirmed, per West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. The official cause will be determined by the results of an autopsy.
Henderson is now facing an additional charge of second-degree murder.
This is the third inmate death at the West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center in 2025. The first was 38-year-old Ryan Moreau in March.
After a “medical crisis” on March 5, Moreau was transported to a local hospital, where he remained in intensive care until he died days later. Two inmates were charged with obstruction of justice in Moreau’s death, and a facility-wide shakedown was conducted on March 7.
Moreau’s father spoke to UWK later in March, saying he still had questions about his son’s death.
“All they told me from the beginning was they found Ryan unresponsive in his cell and then they got him revived and called the ambulance, which brought him to Our Lady of the Lake in East Baton Rouge,” Michael Moreau said back in March. He also said that he didn’t learn about the incident with the two other inmates until reading it in UWK‘s story.
In May, another inmate died while in West Baton Rouge custody. Unterio Lewis died of “combined drug toxicity,” which is a drug overdose, according to the West Baton Rouge Coroner. His detailed toxicology report is still pending to determine what potential drugs led to his death.
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
