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Defendants charged in Otieno’s death return to court

George Copeland Jr. | 9/26/2024, 6 p.m.
Three defendants are set to appear in court in the coming months for trials and hearings related to their role …
Irvo Otieno

Three defendants are set to appear in court in the coming months for trials and hearings related to their role in the death of Irvo Otieno more than a year after he died at Central State Hospital while pinned down by Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies and hospital employees during a mental health crisis.

Former hospital employee Wavie Jones will be in court starting Sept. 30 as part of a five-day series of jury trials at Dinwiddie County Circuit Court, according to online court records. Sheriff’s deputy Kaiyell Sanders will appear in court on Oct. 16 for a status hearing, with trial dates set for Dec. 2 through Dec. 6.

Deputy Brandon Rodgers’ trial, originally scheduled for Oct. 7 to Oct. 11, has been canceled due to continued defense motions.

A new hearing is set for Nov. 19, with additional details to be provided later. Jones, Rodgers and Sanders are charged with involuntary manslaughter, a downgrade from previous charges of second-degree murder. The three are the last remaining defendants from the seven deputies and three hospital staff initially indicted by a Virginia grand jury for their roles in Otieno’s death.

Last year, former Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill dropped charges against two of the hospital employees. Her successor Amanda Mann, requested in early

May that charges against five deputies be dropped as part of an effort to reschedule the order of trials.

Otieno’s family criticized the move and called for federal officials to get involved. Mann downgraded the charges for the remaining defendants weeks later.