Burlington County Jail Cleared of Wrongdoing in Death of Pemberton Inmate

For the second time in a week, Burlington County Jail has been cleared in the death of an inmate.

An investigation into the death of inmate Jerome Iozzia determined that he died of natural causes, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi announced on Thursday.

Iozzia, 50, collapsed and died in prison on Feb. 25. He had a cardiac condition. Paramedics who responded were unable to resuscitate Iozzia, who was pronounced dead at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly.

The autopsy performed by the Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office the same day indicated the manner of death was natural and the cause was pneumonia/empyema/sepsis.

The investigation determined there was no criminal wrongdoing and no evidence of inmate mistreatment or abuse by jail staff.

Iozzia was incarcerated on Nov. 20 after being arrested by Pemberton Police for aggravated assault, robbery and possession of a weapon. He was a resident of the Browns Mills section of Pemberton.

On Tuesday, the Burlington County Times reported that the prosecutor determined the jail was not responsible for the death of 75-year-old inmate Robert Taylor, who died after 10 days in prison.

That investigation determined Taylor died of natural causes, despite another inmate accusing jail staff of purposefully neglecting Taylor. Taylor was in jail on a contempt charge after being charged with a disorderly persons offense in Riverside.