Inmate at Oakdale FCC dies of COVID-19

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - An inmate at Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex has died of COVID-19, according to information released by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Marcelo Ramos-Ortiz, 59, died on March 4, 2021, after battling COVID since January, according to the BOP. Ramos-Ortiz first tested positive for COVID on Jan. 18, 2021, and placed in medical isolation.

After Oakdale FCC medical staff inspecting Ramos-Ortiz on Jan. 19, found he had impending respiratory failure, he was transported to a local hospital, according to the BOP. He was placed on a ventilator on Jan. 26. Ramos-Ortiz had long-term, pre-existing conditions outlined by the CDC as making patients more susceptible to severe COVID-19.

He is the ninth inmate to die from COVID-19 at Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex, but the first since May of 2020, according to the Bureau of Prisons’ website.

Ramos-Ortiz had been held at Oakdale FCC since Oct. 15, 2014. He was serving an 11-year, 3-month sentence out of Alabama for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and illegal re-entry into the United States.

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