TERRE HAUTE — Federal authorities have launched an investigation following the death of an incarcerated man at the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Terre Haute.
Rodney Belvado, 41, was discovered unresponsive inside the high-security facility on Monday afternoon at approximately 3:40 p.m. Prison staff immediately initiated life-saving protocols and requested emergency medical services (EMS). Upon arrival, EMS personnel pronounced Belvado dead.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been notified and is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. Officials emphasized that no prison staff members or other incarcerated individuals were injured during the incident and noted that public safety was never compromised.
Belvado had been housed at the Terre Haute federal complex since September 26, 2017, where he was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.
The conviction stems from a December 2004 federal case handled in the District of Arizona. According to U.S. District Court documents, Belvado, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, was indicted for a Crime on an Indian Reservation after the fatal beating of Homer Jess Stevens, Sr., within the boundaries of the San Carlos Indian Reservation.
Court filings from the initial investigation detail that the fatal altercation occurred outside a local residence following a dispute regarding a tribal council election. Belvado later admitted to investigators that statements made during the dispute had angered him, leading to a physical confrontation where he repeatedly kicked the victim and struck him with a piece of wood.
The United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute is a high-security facility that houses roughly 1,100 male offenders. It is part of the broader Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex (FCC), which also contains a medium-security institution and the federal bureau’s Death Row execution chamber.
An official cause of death for Belvado has not yet been released pending an autopsy and the completion of the FBI’s inquiry.
