24-year-old Duval County inmate dies in custody; 4th in-custody death this year

Duval County jail (Copyright 2023 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 24-year-old man who had been in custody at the Duval County jail died Tuesday, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

JSO said while at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility, Isaiah Lazarus Mitchell suffered an unknown medical episode Tuesday afternoon and later died at a local hospital.

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The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine Mitchell’s cause of death following an autopsy.

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JSO said Mitchell was originally taken into custody on Nov. 19, 2023, on the following charges: possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, giving false name or identification of law enforcement, resisting an officer without violence, and violation of probation for possession of cocaine.

Court records show Mitchell pleaded guilty to charges earlier this month and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Mitchell’s death is the fourth in-custody death at the Duval County jail this year.

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State lawmakers asked the Department of Justice to investigate after 12 inmates died in nine months in 2023.

News4JAX records show that by the end of 2023, 15 Duval County inmates had died in custody, which was slightly down from 19 inmate deaths in 2022.


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Digital reporter who has lived in Jacksonville for more than 25 years and focuses on important local issues like education and the environment.

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