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Commonwealth’s Attorney asking for additional records, witness statements in Jamycheal Mitchell case

Posted at 5:16 PM, Jun 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-09 17:16:48-04

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney has released new details in the investigation into the death of an inmate at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office announced they have received the results of the State Police investigation into the death of Jamycheal Mitchell.

However, they did not release any details from that investigation.

They say they are asking for additional records and witness statements from the former medical services provider for Hampton Roads Regional Jail during Mitchell’s incarceration for their own investigation into Mitchell’s death.

Mitchell, a mentally ill man, was 24-years-old when he died in a jail cell at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail on August 19, 2015. Family members claim Mitchell literally withered away for four months, eventually dying of wasting syndrome.

Mitchell was arrested in April 2015for stealing $5 in food from a Portsmouth convenience store, and was awaiting a bed at a mental health hospital thanks to an order from a judge.

However, after Mitchell’s death, an investigation by a state health agency discovered that order never made it into the right hands. Instead, investigators discovered the order sat in a file drawer for weeks, and was only rediscovered five days after Mitchell died.

VSP investigators were brought in to see if any criminal charges should be filed in Mitchell’s death. In March, additional allegations were made about Mitchell’s death, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney. It’s not clear what the allegations are.

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