DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – The defense’s case for one of the three men charged in the 2023 death of Irvo Otieno, who died while in custody while being admitted to a state-run mental hospital, moved forward Wednesday with testimony from people who could still face charges.
The March 6, 2023, death of Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, while in custody of Henrico County sheriff’s deputies at Virginia’s Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County led to outrage and calls for changes in Virginia’s mental health system after videos were released last year.
Ten – seven Henrico sheriff’s deputies and three hospital orderlies — were initially indicted but only three still face active charges.
The prosecution in the involuntary manslaughter case against Wavie Jones, a former Central State Hospital security staff member, rested on Tuesday in Dinwiddie County Circuit Court.
Jones’s defense team immediately moved to have the judge throw out the charge against him on arguments that the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office did not prove their case with the evidence presented.
After the judge denied the motion to strike, Jones’s defense began calling witnesses Tuesday afternoon and started the third day of the trial on Wednesday morning with more witnesses.
On Tuesday, Jones’s defense called on Henrico County police officers who responded to Otieno’s mother’s home before he was taken to Parham Doctors’ Hospital, officers who interacted with Otieno at Parham and staff at the hospital.
Videos previously reported on by 8News of Henrico police’s response, including when an officer is seen hitting Otieno multiple times and Otieno hitting that same officer, were shown by Jones’s defense on Tuesday.
Jones’s legal team called two Henrico County sheriff’s deputies who were charged with second-degree murder in Otieno’s death last year who had their charges withdrawn to testify on Wednesday.
While both had their charges withdrawn, they could still face charges tied to Otieno’s death. An attorney for Jones noted that both spoke without immunity on potential charges and understood that they could have their testimony used against them in the future.
Henrico County sheriff’s deputy Dwayne Bramble and Jermaine Branch were both in the admissions room at Central State Hospital holding onto and trying to restrain Otieno before he died.
They both told the jury Wednesday that, while in the admissions room, Otieno was not complying with commands, trying to get on his stomach, fighting back efforts to restrain him and get him on his side, was considered a safety threat and was speaking incoherently at times.
Bramble and Branch demonstrated how they were holding onto Otieno on a mannequin provided by the defense team, each saying it was hard to see at all times. Still, they didn’t see anyone putting their body weight directly onto Otieno.
Both of them said they could not get Otieno under control without the help of security staff members at Central State Hospital. Bramble said he didn’t see Jones with his knees on Otieno, but noted that he focused on securing Otieno’s ankle.
Dinwiddie prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in their involuntary manslaughter case against Wavie Jones, who was a Central State Hospital employee at the time of Otieno’s death.
Jones pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys have argued that Otieno died of a sudden cardiac event and that their client is innocent.
After prosecutors rested their case, Jones’s defense team moved to strike the evidence from the case – effectively ending the case by acquitting Jones — on arguments that the evidence to move forward with an involuntary manslaughter charge was “insufficient.”
Dinwiddie Circuit Court Judge Joseph M. Teefey Jr. denied that motion, saying there were conflicted views of the evidence and that the jury would have the final say as the “finder of fact.”
Lawyers from the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office called several witnesses on Monday and Tuesday, but none went on longer than the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Otieno.
During opening statements, county prosecutors said their argument in the trial would be that Jones’s actions were negligent the day Otieno died.
“A mental health crisis shouldn’t be a death sentence,” Mann said in her opening statement Monday.
In its opening statement, Jones’s legal team told the jury they would argue that Otieno died of a sudden cardiac death. Jones’s attorney called Otieno’s death an unexpected and unpredicted “tragedy” but said Jones was not responsible and acted to help.
The medical examiner who did Otieno’s autopsy took the stand Tuesday, where she told the jury she believed his ability to breathe was hindered and that the cause of death was mechanical and positional asphyxiation with restraints.
The examiner, Dr. Jennifer Bowers, said she reviewed footage from Central State Hospital and Henrico jail, lab and medical records and a three-page police report for the autopsy.
Dr. Bowers said X-rays found no fractures, but an external examination found contusions on Otieno’s face and over his body. She added that no significant internal injuries were discovered during the autopsy.
The prosecution also called on two Central State Hospital nurses at the time who at times were in the room when Otieno was there, including one who administered an anti-psychotic and Benadryl for what she explained was a calming effort.
Both nurses said they could see a struggle but that they didn’t get a clear view of Otieno’s body at the time due to the number of people in the room, which one described as “chaotic.” Neither of the nurses said they noticed seeing any effects of the medications given to Otieno at the time.
Central State Hospital’s primary care physician also testified, telling the jury that he administered an EpiPen on Otieno because they can be used in cardiac arrest situations but that there was no reaction.
Dr. Robin Cruz, a forensic toxicologist who was the case examiner for Otieno, shared that she analyzed his blood after he died.
Stay with 8News for updates.
