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Whitley County Jail inmates dies in ‘apparent suicide’
Posted On 31 Dec 2014
Brandon Curtis Jones
A Whitley County Detention Center inmate was found dead inside his isolation cell late Wednesday morning in what jail officials are calling an "apparent suicide."
Outgoing Whitley County Jailer Ken Mobley said that a deputy jailer discovered Brandon Curtis Jones, 34, of Williamsburg, unresponsive in his isolation cell about 11:57 a.m.
Jones was in the isolation cell due to a staph infection.
He had been taken to the hospital Tuesday night for treatment of a dislocated or fractured finger that was injured while Jones was getting out of bed, Mobley said.
Jones was treated and released at the hospital and brought back to the jail.
Mobley said that inmates in the isolation cell are checked on every 15 to 20 minutes, and Jones had been checked about 15 minutes before he was found unresponsive.
A deputy jailer, who authorities did not identify, was bringing Jones a lunch tray when he was discovered.
Mobley said that deputy jailers and the jail nurse performed CPR and used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in an attempt to revive Jones.
Jail officials called an ambulance but all efforts to revive Jones were unsuccessful.
Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird said that when police arrived at the scene they discovered an inmate in the floor of an isolation cell and a sheet had been wrapped around his neck.
Bird said one end of the sheet was tied to a stool and the other end had been tied around his neck.
"He rolled himself until the sheet tightened on his neck," Bird said.
Whitley County Jailer Elect Brian Lawson said that as soon as deputy jailers found the victim they cut the sheet loose from his neck and began CPR.
Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley officially pronounced Jones dead at the scene at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Croley said that he is waiting for autopsy results to be completed before determining an official cause and manner of death in the case.
Jones’ body has been sent to the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office in Frankfort where an autopsy is scheduled to be performed Thursday. This is standard procedure when an inmate dies while in custody.
Mobley said that authorities have no way of knowing whether Jones was trying to kill himself or was merely trying to get attention.
"Really I don’t know. There is no way of knowing really," Mobley noted. "It is sad, but it happens."
Mobley said this wasn’t how he wanted to spend his last day as Whitley County Jailer Wednesday.
The detention center’s website indicates that Jones has been arrested at least nine times since 2008 and booked at the jail on various charges ranging from DUI and public intoxication to theft of a firearm and manufacture of methamphetamine.
Mobley said he wasn’t sure how many times Jones had been arrested but confirmed that he had been in an out of jail several times.
Bird said that police went through Jones past booking history at the jail, and that he had no history of suicide attempts there.
"I can tell you that every time he was booked at the jail there was never any issue with suicide," Bird said.
Whitley County Jailer Elect Brian Lawson said that when inmates are processed into the jail, intake questions include whether they have ever thought of or attempted suicide.
"He answered no that he had never thought of or attempted suicide," Lawson noted.
Most recent arrest
Jones was incarcerated in the Whitley County Detention Center Wednesday following his arrest two days earlier by Williamsburg police.
Detective Bobby Freeman arrested Jones on Dec. 29 about 1:24 p.m. on Green Street charging him with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
According to his arrest citation, Jones allegedly came into W.D. Bryant & Sons with a check belonging to Dennis Parks.
A store clerk called Parks, who told the clerk that Jones didn’t have permission to have the check, Freeman wrote on the citation.
When clerks informed Jones about this, he allegedly took off running out of the store and tore the check up into pieces, Freeman wrote.
The clerks chased Jones and caught him on Green Street, according to the citation.
Bird said that Jones was attempting to buy a chainsaw.
Court records indicate he was trying to buy a 16-inch Husqvarna chainsaw valued at $300, some oil and a file.
"He was fine when we took him into custody and cooperative," Bird noted.
Jones was booked into the Whitley County Detention Center at 2:47 p.m. on Dec. 29, according to the detention center’s website.
Whitley District Judge Fred White set Jones’ bond at $7,500 cash in part because Jones was arrested on a new offense while another case was pending.
Jones was scheduled to appear in court Jan. 5 for arraignment on his latest charge.
Bird and Croley are leading the investigation. Freeman, Williamsburg Police Officer Ashley Wampler, and Mobley and Lawson assisted with the investigation.
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i was in from april 26 to july 28 spent 14 days in the hole 182 to b exact i heard about this before and in jail i dont think he commited suicide plus he didnt do it for attention. if they checked on the inmates in the hole then their is record of it because they scanned every time when they checked on us. was this also before they had cameras if so then whos attention would he have been trying to get cause no one would know unless the cameras were there or he would have just said he was feeling suicidal to get attention. i also went to school with him he was a great wrestler and very motivated. he was strong mind and body the jail would not have been able to break him. the hole can get lonely unless u like it like i do. this is all to shady for me to believe cause if u are going to use a sheet and do the gator roll i dont think u would use the stool but more like a bunk although in the hole they are the same hieght off the floor. i dont claim to know any thing but i do wonder about all of it and have done time there as well. he was a great person and should not b judged by his rap sheet nor this incident. everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but should respect the family who has had to deal with this terrible loss my heart goes out to them hopefully they get answers. thanks all
Listen here person with “common sence” you obviously don’t have much. you didn’t know Brandon so stop running your mouth about crap you don’t know. He didn’t kill himself he wasn’t they Kind’ve person. So shut up!! He was killed by someone! Because I dang sure know he didn’t so it himself!
I knew Brandon for a short time in the Army back in 2000. Good Dude. It’s too bad he couldn’t overcome the demons in his life. For a short time he was a great friend. Rest in peace brother.
I was at WCDC not to long ago on a traffic warrant and I can tell you first hand the staff couldn’t give a **** less about the inmates and the little short ****er who runs third shift is a major asshole with a Napoleon complex. The place is racist as **** and I saw one guy strapped to a chair and they made him sit inthat chair for like 6-8 hours just for making noise and passing kites under the doors and they maced him and wouldn’t let him use the bathroom. They also don’t ****in check every 15 minutes on the ISO cells cause I was in ISO for 12 days for a fight. Bull**** topped on more bull****. I didn’t know Brandon but i do know about drugs and the things they can do to peoples lives and minds and none of that matters now. What matters is that these journalists and cops respect a person for being a human being and not a “inmate” or “convict” or talking about all his arrests. The Police here are a joke and the staff should all be fired and the jail burnt to the ground. there were a couple ok guards the Marine dude thats deaf was all right but other than that **** em all!!!
i was jailed back in the summer and i can say that the CO’S do try to find anyway to beat ur ass. i spent 42 days and its wasnt fun. if anybody knows first hand how wcdc handles ppl wantting to kill themselves then i can tell you. i tryed killing myself at wcdc. i swallowed 3 razor blades and was sent to UK hospital then back to jail where when i got back they straped me to a chair for 7days and i didnt get out to sleep, i stayed in it 24/7 untill they sent me to KSR and then 7 days later was sent back to wcdc. let me tell you all something wcdc should be shut down because i was told by many staff that they hoped i died and was treated badly. i coulda made big time news about what happened to me but with no money for lawyers and no family to back me i had to let it be but ill never be back at that jail because its like this, dont get in trouble and you dont gotta worry about wcdc. ive had nightmares so much. but anyway rip b.j
Brandon was a great person an the type of person who
Would help anyone in need yes we all have our problems
But nobody deserve to have there name stomp on
An put down after they past we all have dune wrong
In this life it’s a shame that a young man has lost his life
so early
Love u cuz
I think before people say anything about what others have wrote they should have read what was wrote in the beginning not what was wrote after they read their own story.An saw they are the ones that messed up. The first story didn’t say anything about the sheet being cut off of this young man. An his whole life of arrests should have never been posted. Him an his family didn’t deserve for everyone to know. Have some respect.
I think before people say anything about what others have wrote they should have read what was wrote in the beginning not what was wrote after they read their own story.An saw they are the ones that messed up. The first story didn’t say anything about the sheet being cut off of this young man. An his whole life of arrests should have never been posted. Him an his family didn’t deserve for everyone to know. Have some respect.
I think before people say anything about what others have wrote they should have read what was wrote in the beginning not what was wrote after they read their own story.An saw they are the ones that messed up. The first story didn’t say anything about the sheet being cut off of this young man. An his whole life of arrests should have never been posted. Him an his family didn’t deserve for everyone to know. Have some respect.
I think before people say anything about what others have wrote they should have read what was wrote in the beginning not what was wrote after they read their own story.An saw they are the ones that messed up. The first story didn’t say anything about the sheet being cut off of this young man. An his whole life of arrests should have never been posted. Him an his family didn’t deserve for everyone to know. Have some respect.
I think before people say anything about what others have wrote they should have read what was wrote in the beginning not what was wrote after they read their own story.An saw they are the ones that messed up. The first story didn’t say anything about the sheet being cut off of this young man. An his whole life of arrests should have never been posted. Him an his family didn’t deserve for everyone to know. Have some respect.
I think before people say anything about what others have wrote they should have read what was wrote in the beginning not what was wrote after they read their own story.An saw they are the ones that messed up. The first story didn’t say anything about the sheet being cut off of this young man. An his whole life of arrests should have never been posted. Him an his family didn’t deserve for everyone to know. Have some respect.
I believe there’s more to the story than what’s been said. I grew up with his younger siblings and was around Brandon quite a bit. The CO’s at wcdc are always looking for a reason to beat the inmates. I would imagine his finger got dislocated courtesy of the crooked cops of Wburg. Not all the cops act that way but most do. I have personally seen bird and freeman drinking beer while driving their personal vehicles through town. And they get hammered four wheeling. Which would also be a DUI If I’m not mistaken. I’m not tryin to bash the law, but the ones in office now are way worse than sheriff hodge ever was… Hodge just got caught is the only difference. If an inmate is in ISO, then there is no excuse for having one die while in custody… There’s no way they were properly Making rounds. I’ve seen that with my own to eyes while I was incarcerated there… But hangin yourself by rolling up in a sheet?? Really?? Really?? If anyone believes that crock of **** then I feel sorry for you bc you’re obviously a moron. There’s more corrupted things going on in the police dept than there is on the streets.. Sad but true… Brandon was a good person who made some bad choices. Everyone does it bc the only perfect one died on the cross for our sins. Rip Brandon.. Your uncle Jeff is now there with you.
There was a boy here when I read this story out loud that had been in jail and he said (Now I wonder what really happened to him ) I,ve also heard others thats been in jail talk about how they were treated all of it not good. So when I read anything about things like this I also wonder what really happened. The jail needs monitored more on how its run.
You dumb ****s get your facts straight before commenting with you bull **** conspiracy theories. The deputy jailer that found him did check on him 15 minutes before, so stop blaming this incident on him he done all he could it’s not his fault the man took his life. I feel for the mans family I really do, but y’all need to accept what has happened and stop saying it was anyone at the jails fault. Bunch of dumb ****s
Apparently someone doesn’t know how to read correctly, Mr./Ms. “Don’t add up”….it clearly says– and I quote–
“Whitley County Jailer Elect Brian Lawson said that as soon as deputy jailers found the victim they cut the sheet loose from his neck and began CPR.”.
Oh, and of course the conspiracy theorists would flood the comments also. Someone dies and automatically “the cops killed them!”– whether they were in jail or out on the street. While I know that they’re are some crooked, abusive, no good, pieces of **** cops out in the world…people still don’t need to jump to THAT conclusion every single time something happens. Maybe he took something that made him lose his mind in those few minutes and somehow nobody knew, maybe he was sick of being hooked on drugs and just wanted to end it….who knows?? I went to school with Brandon, I KNOW he was a good guy, but drugs do weird stuff to people that they wouldn’t have otherwise done had it not been for the drugs. I just think people should wait until the autopsy results are released before you all start jumping to conclusions about what happened.
I watched Brandon grow up and he was such a smart, energetic and happy person. It is so sad his life ended like this. I pray for his family. Drugs are so evil and took this young man way to soon. Rest in peace Brandon
That jail is the worse place iv ever seen the staff and new jailer should be fired I have never seen a place ran this way its really sad the way they steal and treat these inmates not saying some don’t deserve it but there are good people that make mistakes but this place should be shut its just wrong it really is.
I knew Brandon for many years, from the time he was in high school. The negative, tunnel vision and highly suspicious content of this article hurts my heart in remembrance of him. I am sad that his innocent child will be haunted by this unnecessarily insensitive content so disrespectfully presented publicly at the very time of shock and grief of his passing for ones who loved him. Brandon had serious troubles in recent times, but he did not deserve to be further dragged down in this way, at this time. Shame on you! I offer prayers for peace to your spirit, Brandon
I didn’t know Mr. Jones or any of his family. But I have to comment on the lack of compassion the writer had for Mr. Jones and his family. I am sure there were some aspects of his Mr. Jones’ life that were positive. Shame on the person who wrote this article….no one and I mean NO ONE needed to know Mr. Jones’ complete arrest record…who does that? I apologize to the family as I know you are going through enough. God bless the family!
It says jail employees cut the sheet off immediately, but the police chief says his guys saw it still on there when they arrived. It takes how long for the police to get there? That doesn’t sound very “immediate” to me. I also do r believe someone could roll up a sheet and stage an elaborate suicide, slowly asphyxiating themselves beyond the point of resuscitation, in 15 minutes. Whoever claims to have checked on him “15 minutes before” is almost certainly lying.
Also the level of compassion from Ken Mobley was truly overwhelming… “It’s sad, but it happens.” What a shining example of what NOT to say in a crisis.
How many people has died under mobleys care….
I agree that some one is lying. They claim he hurt his finger getting out of bed, who ever is over the “make up a lie department” at the jail cant do better than that is stupid and its an insult to the public for them to assume that we are dumb enough to believe that.
I worked with Brandon for a while years back. He was a very smart IT person, but obviously had some dependency issues. It’s a shame that a person with such promise and potential gets hooked on drugs that totally consume them. He had a great personality. I don’t think his family deserves the negative, embellishing, exposure this newspaper is giving. This curse can happen to anybody. There’s no reason to list his total arrest record and mug shot in this article, or the gory details of his death. Be civil enough to state the ethical story and let it go. That’s just good journalism.
How did they perform CPR with the sheet still wrapped around his neck????? It seems like common sense would tell them to cut the sheet off first! It just don’t add up to me!!!
None of this story adds up on this mans death. Hope the truth will come out.
I agree with the last comment. My heart breaks for his little girl. She is a beautiful little girl that deserves to a wonderful life with a wonderful da and she could have had that had the life path been a little different. Brandon was an amazing man and great friend and I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of father he could have been to her. I wish that she could have met that Brandon. That is the one that I am going to miss.
There was way more to Brandon then what has Happened over the past few years of his life. He use to be a great guy. He was in the military and doing wonderful for himself and his family. I’m not sure what happened or when but something did. He should have had a full psych evaluation a long time ago and this could have probably been prevented. My condolences go out to his family especially his sisters (two great girls). And his daughter (who never really got to know the good Brandon).
Brandon will be missed. My heart goes out to his family. After reading this article it is easy to view him only in a negative light, but Brandon was much more. Nearly everyone has a friend or family member facing the same struggles as Brandon’s.
I will remember him fondly. I am proud to have called him a friend.