The state agency paid nearly $900,000 to defend the man acquitted in the death of Irvo Otieno

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A state government agency paid nearly $900,000 in public funds for legal services to defend a former hospital employee against criminal charges related to the death of Irvo Otieno.

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is the agency that oversees the public psychiatric facility Central State Hospital, where Otieno died on March 6, 2023.

Wavie Jones also worked there as a security guard.

Surveillance video from inside the hospital showed Jones, along with other employees and Henrico sheriff’s deputies, holding Otieno on the floor of an admission room for up to 12 minutes until his death.

Prosecutors in Dinwiddie, who are also state government officials, initially charged Jones with second-degree murder and later reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter.

They accused Jones of forcefully holding Otieno down in a dangerous prone position until he could no longer breathe.

But Jones’ defense attorneys at Ram Law Firm denied those claims. They presented experts who disputed the state medical examiner’s finding that Otieno died of positional and mechanical asphyxia while restrained.

They argued that Otieno died of a sudden heart attack.

After a four-day trial that ended in early October, a jury found Jones not guilty.

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, CBS 6 has learned that between June of last year and September of this year, the Ram Law Firm’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) paid a total of $872,238.24 for legal services related to Jones’ defense has paid.

DBHDS spokeswoman Lauren Cunningham said the department paid the statutory bills with natural savings from currently unfilled positions, but added that the agency does not retain positions from recruiting to generate savings.

Cunningham said DBHDS sometimes receives reimbursements for legal fees, but no such action was taken in this particular case.

Mark Krudys, a legal representative for the Otieno family, called the $872,238.24 figure a “staggering amount” and said it underscores his belief that there is an imbalance of resources between the defense and the small prosecution in Dinwiddie.

“In connection with the matter, resources have simply been made available to them, and we fear that resources will be made available to them again,” Krudys said. “All we wanted was a fair trial where resources were equal and available on both sides. “I would be similarly forceful in the future.”

During a press conference earlier this week, Krudys called the prosecution’s performance during the trial a “lackluster performance,” saying it failed to use video evidence, failed to humanize Otieno and lacked urgency and interest in the case.

This is one reason the Otieno family is once again calling on the Justice Department to conduct a federal investigation into Otieno’s death and possibly take over prosecution.

Doug Ramsuer of the Ram Law Firm, which represented Jones, dismissed claims that the prosecutor’s office lacked resources, adding that it had access to the local sheriff’s department, state police, coroner’s office and other state agencies.

“Battle against the state’s unlimited resources over a period of eighteen months requires a tremendous amount of time and effort. Every innocent person accused of a crime deserves nothing less than the most vigorous and competent defense possible,” Ramseur said in a statement to CBS 6 on Friday.

He added: “The truly ‘astonishing amount’ is the more than $3.3 million that the law firms of Ben Crump and Mark Krudys received from the civil settlement.”

The Otieno family and their attorneys received $8.5 million in compensation from the state, Henrico County and Henrico Sheriff following Otieno’s death.

“They should stop complaining that too much justice was done to an innocent man,” Ramseur said.

Addressing reporters moments after Jones was found not guilty earlier this month, Ramseur praised the state government for its help in the Jones case.

“I would like to thank the Central State Hospital Authority, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Commissioner Nelson Smith for their support of a subordinate employee who was wrongfully accused of murder. And they said, ‘You know what, he was a state employee and we’re going to make sure he’s represented,'” Ramseur said.

CBS 6 also spoke with a criminal defense attorney not involved in this case to get her opinion on the cost of defense services.

She said although it is a large number, criminal defense attorneys have to work extra hard to research, investigate and gain access to information that is more readily available to prosecutors.

Additionally, she said it is expensive to hire experts.

During the trial, the defense presented three experts who they said were paid between $300 and $500 an hour.

The prosecution presented only one expert, a doctor from the state medical examiner’s office, who said she was not paid for her testimony.

CBS 6 reached out to Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Mann and asked if she used any additional state resources or money in pursuing this case, to which she did not respond.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have information to share.