Bradenton man who died at Manatee County jail identified
The 74-year-old Bradenton man who died in custody at the Manatee County jail over the weekend has been identified.
Henry Dewitt, who was being held on a $1,500 bond on a burglary charge, was found by deputies slumped over in his cell at about 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Staff at the jail performed life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, Dewitt was pronounced dead a short time later.
According to the sheriff’s office, there were no signs of trauma or foul play and Dewitt was known to have numerous medical conditions. Homicide detectives were called in to investigate the death, a standard procedure.
Dewitt’s name was not released until Thursday, because detectives were having difficulty finding his next of kin, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren.
An autopsy has not yet been done to determine Dewitt’s cause of death, because the Medical Examiner’s Office was waiting for the results of a postmortem COVID-19 test. That test was negative, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Russell Vega said Thursday morning and an autopsy is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
Dewitt was booked into the Manatee County jail on March 31 after his arrest by the Bradenton Police Department.
On the afternoon of March 31, police were called to Dewitt’s neighbor’s home after she reported Dewitt had stolen her wallet and cigarettes from inside her home, according to a probable cause affidavit. In an affidavit filed by the woman, the woman said she was standing by the fence outside her home when someone told her Dewitt had walked inside her opened front door.
When she approached the door, the woman said she saw Dewitt walking out with her wallet and cigarettes. She snatched them back from her and he became upset and ran home.
This story was originally published April 24, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
