Another jail inmate died of fentanyl overdoses this summer, records show
A Mecklenburg County Jail inmate died of a fentanyl overdose nearly 14 months after entering the jail, according to an autopsy released Friday by the Mecklenburg County medical examiner’s office.
Lavarchio Brenyon Allen is one of five people who died in the county’s jails this year. Three were apparent suicides, according to jail officials, and autopsies show that the other two deaths involved fentanyl overdoses.
Allen, 35, died seven days after the other overdose victim, Jamarcus McIlwaine. Allen had been in the jail for more than 13 months, while McIlwaine was jailed for less than 24 hours.
Around 6:40 a.m. on July 5, Allen was waiting for breakfast in a jail common area, according to his autopsy and state records.
“He was seem sitting on the dayroom couch, joking,” according to his autopsy. “When the inmates were called to get in line alphabetically, (Allen) didn’t respond. The corrections officer called for him to get in line, but he was hunched over and not responding.”
Medical help arrived and pronounced Allen dead in the jail at 7:47 a.m., according to state records.
Allen’s blood tested positive for fentanyl and valerylfentanyl, which has similar effects to the powerful opioid.
Allen was arrested in May 2017 and charged with larceny of a firearm, breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court records.
After the fifth jail death, in early October, then-Sheriff Irwin Carmichael asked the State Bureau of Investigation to independently investigate the deaths. That investigation is ongoing, according to an SBI spokesperson.
On July 12, a routine state investigation into Allen’s death found no deficiencies in the jail’s physical setup or basic care for inmates, according to documents released by the by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Health Service Regulation.
The county’s new sheriff, Garry McFadden, was sworn in Dec. 4. He said he’s still learning about what happened to the four men and one woman who died in the county’s jails this year.
On Monday, he reached four of the five families by phone, he told the Observer on Tuesday. He said he plans to invite each family to come to his office and talk about their concerns.
McFadden said he isn’t aware of a major fentanyl problem in the jail, though he said he knows the drug is a problem around the country.
Allen’s mother declined to comment for this story. In July, she told the Observer that Allen had called home the day before he died.
“He called everybody wishing them a happy July 4th,” Barbara Allen said then. “Then, all of a sudden, he dropped dead at 8 o’clock in the morning July 5.”
Allen, who went by his middle name Brenyon, had a daughter and two sons, his mother said.
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