Man hit by RCSO stun gun is brain dead, family says; cause of multiple head injuries unclear

Jermaine Jones Jr., who was hit by a stun gun by Richmond County deputies Monday night, is brain dead, his family confirmed. Jones, 24, was in a coma at AU Medical Center with multiple head injuries, which the family says they believe were caused by deputies after they deployed a stun gun and handcuffed him.

Letiya Anderson, his fiancée, said in a text message, "we have to decide when to take him off the ventilator." According to National Health Service UK, brain death is when a person on an artificial life support machine no longer has any brain functions, which means they will not regain consciousness or be able to breathe without support.

According to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, Jones suffered a medical emergency on his way to the Charles B. Webster Detention Center and was transported to the hospital. The investigation was turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

More: Man tased by RCSO deputy during traffic stop hospitalized, in critical condition

The family says doctors told them he was showing seizure-like symptoms when he arrived at the hospital and didn’t know who he was or anything about what was going on.

“(Doctors) said his brain was about to basically pop. There was too much pressure,” she said. “They said it looked like his injuries came from blunt force trauma, she said he has multiple parmental intracranial hemorrhage.”

He was in a coma and experiencing brain bleeds, she said. Doctors told family that Jones' simply being hit with a stun gun and falling to the ground wouldn’t have caused that much damage to multiple parts of his head, his fiance said.

What happened to Jones?

Jones was riding in the backseat of a black SUV, which his uncle was driving with his father, Jermaine Jones Sr., sitting in the passenger seat beside him. They were stopped by Richmond County deputies at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Clifton Street. The three men were leaving the tow yard when they were pulled over.

According to the sheriff's office incident report, Investigator Christopher Brown observed the SUV driving north on Highland Avenue with a tinted tag cover obstructing the actual tag. After pulling them over, Brown explained why they were being stopped.

While speaking to them, Investigator Richard Russell and members of the crime suppression team arrived, according to the report.

All three were asked for identification. Anderson was not present, but she said Jones Sr. told her the car was surrounded by narcotics officers, who asked if there were any guns or narcotics inside the vehicle. They said no.

According to the report, Brown asked Jones' uncle, who owned the vehicle, if he would consent to a search of the vehicle and he did. Deputy Lora Hucko and her canine partner did an open air search, according to the report.

Brown found a gun – a 9mm Glock 26 handgun – inside the vehicle under the right rear passenger seat and Jones ran. Anderson believes he did so because he is currently on probation, and being with someone who has a gun is a violation of his conditions.

According to the incident report, before Brown found the gun, Jones stood in front of Russell and told his father he was going to run.

Russell deployed his stun gun to detain Jones, striking him in the back before he fell to the ground.

The family claims deputies were hitting and punching Jones while trying to handcuff him. According to the incident report, "a brief struggle" with Jones took place before he was taken into custody. Once handcuffed, he was placed in the back of a patrol car.

According to the GBI, multiple deputies stopped him and “there was a struggle between officers and Jones in the attempts to detain him.”

At that point, Anderson said Jermaine Jones Jr. was still conscious. His father, Jones Sr., told his son to call them from the jail to sort out bond. But he never made it to the jail and was transported to the hospital instead, according to the GBI and sheriff's office.

“We didn’t get a call from the sheriff’s office or anything actually. The only reason we knew he was in the (hospital) is because a nurse contacted his mother on Facebook and let her know that she needed to call,” Anderson said. “The next morning, at 11 a.m., we found out he was in critical condition at the hospital.”

Anderson said they have requested a time log from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who is investigating the case, but were denied. Anderson said Jones was arrested around 7:15 p.m. Monday, but she can't account for the next two hours. . She does know his AU Health VIP Portal shows the first lab test wasn’t run until around 9:30 p.m.

“We know there is more to the story because he never arrived to the jail,” she said.

Jones was charged with felony possession of a firearm by a first offender and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. In a statement Thursday, the GBI said there were no updates to report and that body camera footage is not being released due to the case being an active investigation.

Anderson said she and the family have conflicting feelings about the investigation.

“I hope the GBI gives us justice and stops trying to cover up for their officers,"she said. "How can a simple traffic stop, on somebody who is not even the driver, who is on the back of the car, who doesn’t even have a car, end up fighting for his life in the hospital?”

Now, she is trying to figure out how to tell their daughter, Alanah, what happened to her father.

“We are not saying he is perfect. Everyone is trying to paint him like a criminal but he is the one fighting for his life,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Man hit with stun gun by deputies at traffic stop brain dead from injuries