Prosecutor wants 1 trial for 10 charged in patient’s death

By DENISE LAVOIE
AP Legal Affairs Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A prosecutor has asked a judge to approve a request to put seven sheriff’s deputies and three hospital workers on trial together in the case of a 28-year-old man who died after he was pinned to the floor as he was being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. All 10 defendants are charged with second-degree murder in the March 6 death of Irvo Otieno. An autopsy determined that Otieno died of asphyxia while he was in handcuffs and metal leg restraints and held down on the floor for about 11 minutes. Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill argued in a written motion that the 10 defendants “acted together” and should be tried together.