Dinwiddie prosecutor moves to drop charges against last 2 in Irvo Otieno death case
DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – Dinwiddie County’s top prosecutor has moved to drop criminal charges in the last two cases tied to the 2023 in-custody death of Irvo Otieno, online court records show. Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Mann has filed motions requesting to withdraw the involuntary manslaughter charges against two men -- Kaiyell Sanders and Brandon Rodgers -- who were Henrico County sheriff’s deputies when Otieno died. The motions to nolle prosequi — which effectively drops the charges for now — must be signed off by a judge before the charges can be withdrawn. The motions do allow for the charges to be reinstated, but that outcome isn’t common. Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, died on March 6, 2023, in an admissions suite at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County while in the custody of Henrico County sheriff’s deputies. His death led to outrage and a push for mental health reforms in Virginia after a video of it was released last year. New videos shed light on Irvo Otieno’s time at Henrico hospital and jail before in-custody death The move comes about a month after a Dinwiddie County jury acquitted a former orderly at Central State Hospital in the first criminal trial tied to Otieno's death. After a four-day trial, the jury took under 30 minutes to find the orderly, Wavie Jones, not guilty. Dinwiddie County prosecutors argued that Jones’s actions on the day of Otieno’s death were negligent. Jones’s defense argued that Otieno suffered a “sudden cardiac death,” calling it an unexpected “tragedy” but that Jones was innocent. In the video of Otieno’s death, which has no audio, he is seen being restrained to the ground by a group of sheriff’s deputies and hospital workers for more than 11 minutes. Former hospital worker found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Irvo Otieno’s 2023 in-custody death The medical examiner who conducted Otieno’s autopsy said the cause of death was “positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints,” a view that Jones’s defense team criticized and challenged during the trial. Ten people – seven Henrico sheriff’s deputies and three hospital orderlies — were initially indicted on second-degree murder charges last year, but after the acquittal of Jones, only the cases involving Sanders and Rodgers remained. If the judge approves the motions to drop the charges against Sanders and Rodgers, there would be no active court cases tied to Otieno's death. Mann and the attorney for Rodgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Sanders told 8News that he and his client are hopeful that the motion will be entered on Monday. This story is breaking. Stay with 8News for updates.
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DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – Dinwiddie County’s top prosecutor has moved to drop criminal charges in the last two cases tied to the 2023 in-custody death of Irvo Otieno, online court records show.
Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Mann has filed motions requesting to withdraw the involuntary manslaughter charges against two men -- Kaiyell Sanders and Brandon Rodgers -- who were Henrico County sheriff’s deputies when Otieno died.
The motions to nolle prosequi — which effectively drops the charges for now — must be signed off by a judge before the charges can be withdrawn. The motions do allow for the charges to be reinstated, but that outcome isn’t common.
Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, died on March 6, 2023, in an admissions suite at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County while in the custody of Henrico County sheriff’s deputies. His death led to outrage and a push for mental health reforms in Virginia after a video of it was released last year.
New videos shed light on Irvo Otieno’s time at Henrico hospital and jail before in-custody death
The move comes about a month after a Dinwiddie County jury acquitted a former orderly at Central State Hospital in the first criminal trial tied to Otieno's death. After a four-day trial, the jury took under 30 minutes to find the orderly, Wavie Jones, not guilty.
Dinwiddie County prosecutors argued that Jones’s actions on the day of Otieno’s death were negligent. Jones’s defense argued that Otieno suffered a “sudden cardiac death,” calling it an unexpected “tragedy” but that Jones was innocent.
In the video of Otieno’s death, which has no audio, he is seen being restrained to the ground by a group of sheriff’s deputies and hospital workers for more than 11 minutes.
The medical examiner who conducted Otieno’s autopsy said the cause of death was “positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints,” a view that Jones’s defense team criticized and challenged during the trial.
Ten people – seven Henrico sheriff’s deputies and three hospital orderlies — were initially indicted on second-degree murder charges last year, but after the acquittal of Jones, only the cases involving Sanders and Rodgers remained.
If the judge approves the motions to drop the charges against Sanders and Rodgers, there would be no active court cases tied to Otieno's death.
Mann and the attorney for Rodgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Sanders told 8News that he and his client are hopeful that the motion will be entered on Monday.
This story is breaking. Stay with 8News for updates.
