DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. -- On Wednesday, the defendant accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Irvo Otieno, Wavie Jones, took the stand during the trial against him.
He insisted he did nothing wrong.
Otieno died on March 6, 2023 at a public psychiatric facility, Central State Hospital, while surrounded by Henrico County sheriff's deputies and hospital staff. Otieno had been transported to the hospital by deputies while suffering a mental health crisis.
Jones is represented by attorneys Doug Ramseur and Emilee Hasbrouck, and the prosecution is being led by Dinwiddie Commonwealth's Attorney Amanda Mann.
Jones rejected claims from prosecutors that he forcefully pressed down on Otieno’s body in a Central State admission room as he and deputies restrained Otieno on the floor during a 12-minute struggle.
Jones, who is a former hospital security employee, said he stepped in to restrain Otieno because Henrico deputies lost control of him and could not secure him themselves due to his size and strength.
The defendant said his goal was to keep Otieno on his side, but he said Otieno kept trying to roll over onto his stomach which he acknowledged was a dangerous position that could impact his ability to breathe.
Jones said he did not put his body weight onto Otieno, despite accusations from the commonwealth attorneys that he did. He said Otieno resisted efforts to restrain him.
While Jones testified that he thought Otieno's behavior presented a danger to himself, he did not believe Otieno was a danger to the officers and staff around him.
Otieno's mother appeared to be unsatisfied with the prosecution's questioning of Jones, making a comment in the courtroom that the commonwealth's cross-examination of Jones was "weak."
The defense also called on two Henrico deputies who were initially charged with second-degree murder in the case, but those charges were set aside.
Those deputies had interactions with Otieno at the Henrico Jail before transporting him to Central State Hospital while Otieno was under a temporary detention order.
Henrico Deputy Dwayne Bramble described Otieno as dangerous, violent, and one of the most challenging inmates he’s ever experienced at the Henrico jail.
At the jail, Bramble claimed Otieno tried to gouge his eyes out and strangle him. He said he felt scared for his life while dealing with Otieno.
The defense played a video of Otieno naked in his isolated jail cell. While in there, Brabmle said Otieno was yelling incoherent things.
Defense attorneys also showed a March 5 mental health evaluation of Otieno which was conducted by a Henrico County clinician and prompted his temporary detention order.
The document stated Otieno was homicidal, aggressive, agitated, manic, hadn’t slept in six days, was nonsensical, and was responding to internal stimuli.
Otieno had schizoaffective disorder.
After transporting Otieno to Central State, Henrico deputy Jermaine Branch testified that Otieno was resistant to being restrained and "not calm."
However, Branch said he did not strike anyone or kick toward anyone while being restrained at the hospital.
Branch said Otieno was in a prone position at some points during the 12-minute restraint and struggle leading up to his death.
The defense is now calling on medical experts. So far, two doctors said they disagreed with the state medical examiner’s determination that Otieno died from an inability to breathe while restrained.
After reviewing his medical records and video of the incident, they believe he suffered a sudden cardiac death.
They said Otieno experienced many factors that increases the risk of a sudden cardiac death including being obese, having an enlarged heart, having a history of high blood pressure, and dealing with significant amounts of stress.
The medical examiner, Dr. Jennifer Bowers, was in the courtroom listening to those testimonies. She told CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne that she stands firm in her findings that Otieno died of positional and mechanical asphyxia by restraint, which she testified about on Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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