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Jail officials deny abuse of mentally ill inmate before his death and cast doubt on claims by inmates named in lawsuit

Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) - 6/25/2016

June 25--PORTSMOUTH

Hampton Roads Regional Jail officials, in their first substantive public remarks on the death of inmate Jamycheal Mitchell 10 months ago, denied Friday that jail staff members abused Mitchell before he died or were responsible for his death.

The jail's denials were part of a court filing in response to a motion filed earlier in the week by the Mitchell family, in which four inmates claimed guards at the jail have tried to intimidate them to stop them from testifying in the family's lawsuit against the jail. The four said they have been threatened and harassed since they were named last month in the federal lawsuit.

Jail officials contradicted the inmates' statements this week, saying Mitchell was taken care of and properly fed while at the jail. Lt. Col. Eugene Taylor, the regional jail's assistant superintendent, in a Thursday interview with The Virginian-Pilot called into question the credibility of the inmates, saying one of the four wasn't even in the jail at the time Mitchell was there.

Mark Krudys, lawyer for the Mitchell family, filed a response to the jail's federal court filing late Friday stating that he felt it was his responsibility to report the inmates' accusations to the court.

"It is wholly unfair to allege that Plaintiff brings 'no credible evidence' simply because the evidence ... is inmate accounts," he added.

In interviews with The Pilot this week, Steven Gray, Jade Johnson and Steven Hurst all said they witnessed guards abuse Mitchell. They also said they were harassed by guards over their claims.

Another inmate, Dominique Vaughan, made similar statements in letters in the Mitchell family's federal court filing but was unavailable for an interview.

Related

Timeline: The Pilot's coverage of Jamycheal Mitchell's death in jail

Timeline: The Pilot's coverage of Jamycheal Mitchell's death in jail

The Virginian-Pilot's award-winning coverage has not only looked at this young man's last days, but also exposed systemic failures in Virginia's mental health care and criminal justice systems. And we're not done.

Mitchell was arrested in April 2015 and accused of stealing $5 worth of snacks from a convenience store. He died four months later in a regional jail cell after allegedly having lost significant weight.

"Jail officers performed routine security checks twice an hour as required by the Virginia Dept. of Criminal Justice Services. They provided three meal trays a day," the jail's Friday court filing said. "During Mr. Mitchell's incarceration he was offered 297 meals; he received 294 trays and refused only three meals."

Jail officials released a timeline of Mitchell's incarceration at the jail from May 11, 2015, until Aug. 19, 2015, the day he died.

The timeline did not record day-to-day events but did provide some information about what jail officials say happened to Mitchell. He was seen by a mental health professional about 70 times, officials say. He is recorded as having refused medications, lab work and other health care.

"HRRJ contracts with an (independent) medical contractor to provide medical and mental health care and treatment to the inmates," the jail's news release said. "HRRJ had no control of when Mr. Mitchell was to be evaluated by Eastern State Hospital."

Hurst, one of the inmates, said he witnessed corrections officers deny Mitchell food, spray him with water and kick him.

He said he watched Mitchell's legs swell. He said they reminded him of his mother's legs just before she went into a diabetic coma and died, and he told the guards about it. They told him to mind his own business, he said.

The jail's timeline said guards sent Mitchell to Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center on July 30 because of his swollen legs. At the time, he weighed a pound more than he would when he died. Hospital records indicate he was "well developed and well nourished," the news release said.

The timeline also said Mitchell refused treatment and was taken back to jail.

Hurst said after he was named in the Mitchell family's lawsuit, he was given a trustee job, which gave him extra privileges. He said getting the job seemed like an attempt to keep him quiet.

Then guards began threatening him.

He said that at one point, his cell door was opened late at night and an inmate came in and attacked him.

"He should have been locked in his cell," Hurst said. "All I know is my door opened up. ... The inmate ran in."

Hurst said he couldn't remember the inmate's name and that there was no complaint or record of the fight.

Hurst and Vaughn both said they feared for their safety. Both were moved to Western Tidewater Regional Jail.

Neither could name an officer or a date and time of retaliation or harassment.

Jail Superintendent David Simons and Taylor said the fight Hurst described never happened and denied all charges made by the inmates.

Friday's court filing by the jail also refuted each inmate's statements.

"David Hurst was not housed in the pod where Mr. Mitchell died at any time after June 24, 2015," the filing said. "Dominique Vaughan told his mother in phone conversations to tell plaintiff's counsel that he could not continue without being paid, and that he was 'playing both sides of the fence.' Steven Gray agreed to speak with a Washington Post reporter about Mr. Mitchell's death, but 'in return, I would like you to shine light on my situation!' Ultimately the record will show that these inmates' allegations regarding Mr. Mitchell are unreliable, as are their current allegations of harassment and retaliation."

Gray, another of the inmates named in the lawsuit, told The Pilot he had the cell next to Mitchell's during most of Mitchell's time in the jail.

"At first ... he might be over there incoherently singing songs, stuff like that," Gray said. "We just called him the crazy guy in 303."

But it became apparent Mitchell was sick, Gray said. He'd stick his hands through the food tray slot, Gray said, and guards would hit his arms and hands to get him to stop it.

"You could hear Jamycheal crying and yelling," he said.

Gray said guards wouldn't feed Mitchell because he wasn't obeying their orders.

"But at the time, he is so out of it, delusional, he's not listening to what they are saying," he said. "It's not like he's not trying to, it's just the fact that he wasn't in his right mind anyway."

Johnson said guards withheld blankets, sheets, clothes and water from Mitchell.

"His ankles was swollen so bad, it was like a spider or a snake bit him," he said.

Taylor said Johnson was not in the prison at the time Mitchell was there, having been transferred from the Hampton Jail to Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth days after Mitchell died.

The Hampton Sheriff's Office confirmed Johnson was in the Hampton Jail from July 30 to Aug. 21, two days after Mitchell died.

Johnson claims he was put in Mitchell's cell just after Mitchell died.

"The day he died, they moved me into his cell. I refused to go into his cell," said Johnson, who is still at Hampton Roads Regional Jail.

He said guards have threatened him since he was named in the lawsuit.

State police started an investigation into Mitchell's death on Wednesday.

Jail officials emphasized they have cooperated with all investigations into Mitchell's death, including those of the Office of the State Inspector General and the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

"The scene was preserved and photographed. The claim that Mr. Mitchell's cell was smeared with feces and his floor was soaked with urine is untrue. The jail's investigation revealed no breach of HRRJ policies or procedures, and no criminal action or negligence by HRRJ staff," the news release said.

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