A man arrested on a murder accusation in the early hours of Monday morning was discovered dead in his cell some hours later.
The Ellisville Police Department placed Nehemiah Rice, 21, of Braddock, Pennsylvania, into the Jones County Adult Detention Center at 1:33 a.m. on a charge of murder.
His arrest was tied to a fatal shooting in an Ellisville hotel.
At 11:37 p.m. on Sunday, the Ellisville Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at the Millennium Inn.
When officers arrived, they discovered a guy deceased on the scene, the result of a gunshot wound. Officers found his body about four feet from the entrance door.
Jones County Coroner Burl Hall confirmed the victim’s identity as 31-year-old Henry Hamilton, Jr., of Bay Springs.
According to EPD investigator Kyle Pickett, the entire incident was captured on camera.
He claims that camera shows the victim approaching the motel entrance. A man, thought to be Nehemiah Rice, is observed nearing the corner and firing multiple shots.
Hamilton, who stood near the front door, was shot in the chest. The suspect then runs after another hotel visitor.
At 11:48 p.m., EPD detained Rice at a neighboring Clark’s gas station.
The event is still being investigated, but there appears to be no connection between Rice and Hamilton. Witnesses stated that Rice was in town for work.
Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin released a statement outlining the events that led up to Rice’s death. WDAM also managed to get time stamps.
2:48 – 2:58 a.m. – According to the statement, an EPD investigator questioned Rice in an interview room at the jail before returning him to his cell.
3:21 a.m. – Rice was discovered unresponsive in his detention cell. According to Sheriff Berlin, prison officers administered CPR and nasal Narcan while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
Around 3:45 a.m., EMServ carried Nehemiah Rice to South Central Regional Medical Center, where he was declared dead.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation will investigate the death, which is standard procedure when an inmate dies in the custody of officers.
The coroner will carry out an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.
Leave a Reply