Family members seeking answers about how inmate died

Civil rights group headed by Al Sharpton investigating

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

A group headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton is investigating the death of a New Jersey man who died Sunday while in custody of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Harold James Ledet Jr., who has family in Gastonia, died at Catawba Valley Medical Center early Sunday morning, said Lt. Roy Brown of the sheriff's office.

Ledet had been at the Catawba County jail since Wednesday, when he was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy in the attempted robbery of a woman on Nov. 21, said Capt. Donald Brown of the Newton Police Department.

The woman, Donald Brown said, ran her car into Ledet as she tried to get away. Ledet was charged a few hours later and arrived at the Catawba County jail Wednesday with a broken ankle and lacerated lip, Donald Brown said.

An inmate noticed about 3:30 a.m. Sunday that Ledet was having trouble breathing and pounded on the cell door to get the guards' attention, Roy Brown said. Soon after, Ledet, who was not breathing, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Leaders at the New York-based National Action Network, Sharpton's advocacy organization, and members of Ledet's family say they don't understand how his injuries could have led to Ledet's death.

David Taylor, his uncle, works with the National Action Network and said he wants more information about how his nephew, a father of three, died.

"We just want some closure," Taylor said. "You can understand how we're feeling right now. We don't have any answers."

John Barnett, state chairman of the civil rights organization, said the National Action Network is independently investigating Ledet's death and is working as a mediator between the family and law enforcement.

"A lot of emotions are flaring," he said.

Barnett said he and members of Ledet's family spoke Monday with Roy Brown, of the Sheriff's Office, but are still waiting for medical reports, the name of the inmate who was sharing Ledet's cell and the name of the nurse who had been giving Ledet medication. He had a prescription for the painkiller Percocet.

"We have gotten about 75 percent of what we need, but that other 25 percent is vital," Barnett said. "We had a standstill trying to get all that information from them."

Roy Brown said the Sheriff's Office would provide the information to Barnett and the National Action Network.

Barnett, who knew Ledet and has worked with Taylor for 17 years, said Ledet had a history of hypertension but, overall, was in good physical condition.

Barnett said family members told him that Ledet had a prescription for Percocet. He said he hopes the medical records will confirm the dosage of the medication Ledet was taking.

Brown said the jail had a prescription for Ledet to take Percocet but was not sure if he took the drug or how much he was given. "We obviously have those records," Brown said. "The toxicology report will tell us more."

The most frequent side effects of Percocet include lightheadedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea and vomiting, according to the Physicians' Desk Reference, a reference guide to pharmaceuticals and other medical issues.

Ledet's death is the third connected to the Catawba County jail in the past two years. Ricardo Martino Garza died in September 2004 after being strapped to a restraint chair. An autopsy found that a fractured rib punctured his lung.

In June, Robert McPherson died of trauma to the head two days after being released from custody. A pathology report showed that McPherson might have been injured while at the jail.


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