Mom suspicious after her son dies in Somerset County jail

SOMERVILLE — A Somerset County mother wants to know why her son died in jail.

Jaquan Williams, 24, of Somerville died of a heart attack while in the Somerset County Jail, according to a GoFundMe page created to help pay for a funeral. The page said Williams, whose nickname was "Boog," had a daughter and another child on the way.

His mother, Patricia Belin, told MyCentralJersey.com the Somerset County Sheriff's Office has not provided much information about what led to his death except that he was found "unresponsive" in his cell at 9:45 p.m. last Wednesday. Belin said she's skeptical that proper attempts were made to revive him.

"For you all not able to bring him back, his brain had to be deprived of oxygen for a long amount of time. Why and how?" Belin was quoted as saying. She said her son was booked on Jan. 2.

The Somerset County Sheriff's Office has not yet returned a message seeking comment.

Williams was a 1993 graduate of Somerville High School, according to his obituary, which said he was "always the life of the party anywhere he went." He was laid to rest on Sunday in Somerville.

Williams had reportedly been jailed on assault and weapons charges. According to an NJ.com story in October, he'd been indicted after allegedly punching a 28-year-old woman in the face and chest, "causing her to suffer multiple contusions to her face, a laceration to her lip and bleeding on the brain."

The punch sent her to an intensive care unit.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to remove information reported by another website.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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