Jaquin Thomas, the 15-year-old inmate who died by apparent suicide Oct. 17 at the Orleans Justice Center, was beaten up at the jail weeks before officials say he hung himself in his cell, the sheriff's office acknowledged Tuesday (Oct. 25).
Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office attorney Blake Arcuri spoke about the assault to members of the New Orleans City Council at City Hall during a hearing about Thomas' death. Thomas' criminal defense attorneys, Martin Regan and Andrew Bevinetto, said last week he was "jumped" at the jail about a month-and-a-half before his death. The OPSO did not address questions about the alleged assault until Tuesday's hearing.
Attorney Blake Arcuri said Thomas was in a "physical altercation" with another youthful offender inmate Aug 29. The inmate who injured Thomas, Arcuri said, was Kevon Williams, a 16-year-old inmate on his pod.
Both Thomas and Williams were classified as medium security inmates in pod 2-C, a pod that was occupied only by youthful male offenders, he said.
"Based on what we know now, this altercation is not considered to have been...a factor in the suicide," Arcuri told the council.
Thomas was at the jail following his July 21 arrest on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated burglary. New Orleans police say Thomas and his 34-year-old uncle Tyrance Chancellor forced their way into a Chateau d'Orleans apartment in New Orleans East around 3:30 a.m. on July 21, according to arrest documents. Chancellor's arrest warrant, sworn by an NOPD officer, says he told police his nephew fatally shot Hasahn Shawl, 24, during a scuffle.
Williams was at the adult jail after his escape from the Youth Studies Center, the the city's juvenile detention facility. He is also facing charges related to multiple armed robberies in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
Thomas suffered a laceration to his lip and and wrist, Arcuri said. After the assault, a "separation order" was issued, barring he and Williams from being out of their cells in the pod at the same time.
Rosalind Smith-Brown, Thomas' aunt who attended Tuesday's hearing, stood at the lecture at City Hall to say she heard a slightly differing version of the assault from her relatives who visited Thomas in jail. She said she believed "several" inmates jumped Thomas. The conflicting accounts troubled the family, she said.
Arcuri said at the time of Thomas' death, there were 12 other inmates in the pod and one deputy supervising them.
"We struggle with the fact that it's one staff member and 13 inmates. Is that the norm? Because apparently it did not (work)," Smith-Brown said.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said Oct. 18 Thomas' death is being investigated as a suicide. The statement says officials believe Thomas used a mattress cover in his cell to asphyxiate himself. An autopsy by the Orleans Parish Corner's Office is pending.
The agency said a deputy making a "scheduled security round" found Thomas unresponsive in his cell at 9:19 p.m. He was was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:11 p.m. OPSO attorney Blake Arcuri said Thomas was being housed in a pod occupied only by other youthful, male offenders.
Apparent suicide captured on video
Arcuri also said the "entire incident," referring to the suicide, was captured on surveillance video. Asked by Councilman Jason Williams if a someone was monitoring the security footage showing the suicide as it happened, Arcuri said he did not know.
"The jail has 970 cameras relayed to a monitor at any moment," he said. "We don't know if anybody was watching camera."
Arcuri noted that the footage captured the suicide from a far distance, it's unclear if the incident would have been obviously visible.
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