Police release identity of man who died in Hoover Jail Monday night

Hoover police today identified the man who died in the Hoover Jail Monday night as 40-year-old Matthew Alan Huggins of Homewood, but the cause of his death remains a mystery.

Huggins, who also has ties to the Montgomery area, was arrested about 9 p.m. Saturday night on a fourth-degree theft of property charge and was being held on a $1,000 bond, police Lt. Keith Czeskleba said.

Detention officers discovered him unresponsive in his cell at 6:56 p.m. Monday night and tried to resuscitate him, Czeskleba said. Hoover paramedics arrived, and Huggins was pronounced dead at 7:07 p.m. He was being housed alone in a holding cell and was last seen alive at 6:33 p.m., Czeskleba said.

Police on Monday said they did not suspect foul play or suicide. However, because he died in police custody, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is handling the death investigation.

Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans sent Huggins’ body to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy, and investigators are awaiting results of the autopsy.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jack Self said it could possibly take weeks to get results from the autopsy. Toxicology test results usually take four to six weeks, he said. Evans said it could be as much as four months before the full autopsy report is available due to staffing shortages caused by lack of funding.