Vermont State Police are investigating after a man died in police custody in Bennington Thursday.
According to VSP, Darrell Jones, 33, who had most recently resided in Albany and in Pennsylvania, was arrested Thursday afternoon. Preliminary investigation shows no indication that Bennington Police used physical force on Jones, one of three people taken into custody at about 3:50 p.m., while police carried out a court-ordered search warrant related to a drug investigation at the Apple Valley Inn on U.S. Route 7.
Jones 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 department provided emergency care, and called first responders, but lifesaving efforts were not successful. Jones was pronounced dead at 5:19 p.m., at the police station.
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 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.