OKLAHOMA CITY — The suspicious death of an Oklahoma County Detention Center (jail, OCDC) detainee overnight has triggered an internal homicide investigation.
According to Mark Opgrand with the jail, a detention officer doing routine safety checks around 2:00 a.m. Friday “discovered evidence of an altercation between two inmates housed in the same cell.”
They found detainee Clinton Pike, 40, injured.
“The officer immediately summoned medical personnel and additional staff for assistance,” said Opgrande in the press release. “Life-saving measures were initiated by facility medical staff and Oklahoma City Fire Department personnel.”
Once taken to the hospital, Pike was declared dead around 3:10 a.m.
This is detainee death #5 for the Oklahoma County Detention Center in 2025.
Pike had been in the OCDC since February 21, 2025, and was currently being held for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The detainee who was sharing the cell with Pike — Orenzo Byrd, 20 — is being investigated by the OCDC’s Criminal Investigation Division under the suspicion that he is the assailant.
Per protocol, all deaths in the Oklahoma County Jail are investigated as homicides by the Oklahoma County Detention Center until the Oklahoma Medical Examiner has determined the cause of death.
Brett is the founder, and editor in chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He continues to contribute reporting and photography to the efforts of the publication as well as leadership in developing support.
