NORTON COUNTY —The Preliminary autopsy results indicate Norton Correctional Facility Central Unit offender, Jeremy J. Palmer, died as a result of a cardiac event while working at a private industry worksite September 16.

According to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections, Co-workers performed CPR until arrival of Phillips County Emergency Medical Services. He was transported by ambulance to the Norton County Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Palmer was serving a 97-month sentence for previous convictions in Barton, Ford and Thomas counties. In 2013, he was found guilty in Thomas County of possession of heroin and methamphetamine, with intent to distribute. In Barton and Ford counties in 2016, he was found guilty of distribution of opiates, fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer, and was charged with interference of law enforcement.

The Norton Correctional Facility houses low-medium and minimum-custody male offenders and has a population of 970.