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March 17, 2012

Inmate died with drug in system

Report shows large amount of methadone, mother says

BY ART BUKOWSKI abukowski@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — A man who died in the Grand Traverse County Jail had a high amount of methadone in his system, his mother said.

Danny Ray Whitney Jr. died March 2 in the jail, about seven hours after he was booked for a community corrections violation. Whitney's mother, Brenda Strait, said police told her toxicology reports showed a large concentration of methadone.

"The dose he had in him was unbelievable," Strait said.

Methadone can be used to help people break heroin addictions, but it's also commonly prescribed as a painkiller. Whitney, 21, had a prescription for the drug, Strait said.

Traverse City Police are investigating the death. City detectives will try to determine how Whitney died, and whether jail staff properly booked and observed him.

City Police Capt. Brian Heffner wouldn't comment on the ongoing investigation, or Whitney's cause of death.

"I have some reports, but I don't have (everything) that paints the whole picture," Heffner said. "Until we get them all, and the prosecutor has a chance to look at it, it wouldn't be fair" to release more information, he said.

The Grand Traverse County prosecutor's office reviews all death cases, Heffner said.

Whitney was jailed after he violated terms of community corrections, a program in which an inmate is allowed to serve a jail sentence outside of jail if they comply with certain conditions.

Jail staff placed Whitney in an observation cell because he told them during booking that he'd been taking prescription drugs, Heffner previously said. He also appeared to be under the influence of an undetermined substance when he arrived for a scheduled appointment with community corrections workers just before his arrest, Heffner said.

Strait believes jail staff should have sent Whitney to the hospital. She's contacted an attorney for possible legal action.

"It's not about the money," she said. "It's so I can save one child, so that this doesn't happen again."

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