STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

 

CASE#: 23B3001447

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME:  Detective Sgt. Lauren Ronan and Detective Trooper Nicholas Grimes

STATION: Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Troop B West – Shaftsbury

CONTACT#: 802-442-5421

 

DATE/TIME: 4:40 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2023

INCIDENT LOCATION: Bennington Police Department, Bennington, Vermont

INCIDENT TYPE: Death investigation

 

VICTIM: Darrel Jones

AGE: 33

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: New York and Pennsylvania

 

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

The Chief Medical Examiner's Office has completed its autopsy findings regarding the March 23, 2023, death of Darrel Jones while in custody at the Bennington Police Department. The office determined that the cause of Jones's death was acute mixed drug intoxication including fentanyl, heroin and cocaine, and the manner of death was an accident.

 

The Vermont State Police investigation into this incident concluded that Jones had drugs concealed in his person when he was taken into custody by the Bennington Police Department. He subsequently ingested a large amount of drugs while in a holding cell before he experienced extreme medical distress and died in the cell. VSP has completed its investigation and forwarded the matter to the Bennington County State's Attorney's Office for review.

 

No additional information is available from VSP. Further questions should be directed to the Bennington Police Department.

 

 

***Update No. 1, 5:50 p.m. Friday, March 24, 2023***

The victim in this incident has been identified as Darrel Jones, 33, who has resided most recently in Albany, New York, and in Pennsylvania. An autopsy was performed Friday, March 24, 2023, at the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington. The cause and manner of Jones' death remain pending toxicology testing, which can take several weeks to several months.

 

The Vermont State Police investigation is active and ongoing. VSP will release additional information as the investigation continues.

 

 

***Initial news release, 9:45 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2023***

The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a man at the Bennington Police Department after he was arrested Thursday afternoon, March 23, 2023.

 

Through preliminary investigation by VSP, there is no indication that Bennington police used physical force on the subject. He was one of three people taken into custody at about 3:50 p.m. as Bennington officers carried out a court-ordered search warrant related to a drug investigation at the Apple Valley Inn on U.S. Route 7. The subject was taken to the Bennington Police Department and placed in a holding cell, where he was discovered unresponsive at about 4:40 p.m.

 

Members of the police department provided emergency medical care and called first responders, but lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, and the man was pronounced dead at 5:19 p.m. at the police station.

 

The name of the deceased man will be released after further investigation and notification of his relatives.

 

Following standard procedure, the Bennington Police Department notified the Vermont State Police of the death at 5:30 p.m., and detectives from the Bureau of Criminal Investigations responded to the station to perform a death investigation. An autopsy will be conducted at the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington to determine the cause and manner of death.

 

Further questions regarding the search warrant and the subject's arrest should be directed to Bennington police.

 

No additional information is currently available. The investigation is ongoing, and the Vermont State Police will provide updates as the case proceeds.

 

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