MEMPHIS, Tenn — WREG Investigators have learned another 201 Poplar inmate went to the hospital stemming from an aggravated assault.

According to the report, an inmate, who is awaiting trial for first-degree murder, was taken to the hospital in non-critical condition.

It happened on January 31 before midnight and was reported more than an hour later. The details in the public report are not listed.

“The circumstances surrounding that is still under investigation. I think it would be premature for me to weigh in on it,” Shelby County Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner said. “[The inmate] received treatment for several days, and now he’s back into the facility and still undergoing medical observation.”

Buckner said SCSO is working with the district attorney’s office to see if charges will be filed.

In that same week, the sheriff’s office reported four inmate deaths.

SCSO stated one was likely a suicide and another was possibly an overdose.  Autopsies are still being conducted.

Buckner said they’ve launched internal investigations to see if any policies and procedures were violated as well as criminal investigations to see if any laws were broken.

Buckner said right now, they just know the aging jail isn’t helping.

“We would hope that today we had doors that closed and locked,” he said. “When we tell inmates to go to their cell at 8 p.m. in the evening, all would do it and stay there until the morning.”

The latest jail report card shows an increase in suicide watches at 201 last year compared to the past year. There was also an increase in more scheduled shakedowns resulting in more weapons found.

While there were fewer staff assaults at 201 last year, there was an increase in inmate assaults and inmates threatening staff.

Throughout all facilities the sheriff’s office manages, 497 internal cases were reviewed last year. Five hundred employees were disciplined with the majority being for attendance, performance, and conduct.

“It’s an environment we wish was violence-free, but the reality is some incidents are difficult for us to control,” said Buckner.

Buckner has repeatedly said the problems at 201 are only getting worse from broken cell doors, parts being hard to find, plumbing and HVAC issues.

According to the recent jail report card, there were almost 10,000 work orders last year and more than 20,000 in the past two years.

There are also reports of overcrowding and a lack of manpower.

“This building was designed to house around 1,300 to 1,400 inmates. Half the population we have today. We have been petitioning to build a new jail,” Buckner said. “If built based upon today’s standards and models, it would require far less staffing than the one we live and work in today.”

A study is reportedly almost complete on how much a new jail will cost and where it should go. Buckner said he hasn’t seen it in its entirety, but knows sites proposed include north Memphis, by the penal farm, and downtown.

State lawmakers are pushing a bi-partisan effort to institute a tax that would pay for the jail.

This is as inmates and their families file lawsuits. Some are seeking hundreds of millions in damages.