Cause of death determined for Henderson jail detainee; had recently been sentenced

A detainee of the Henderson County jail died of dehydration likely from a gastrointestinal viral illness, according to recently obtained records.

Randy Lee Barnette, 55, of Henderson County was pronounced dead Nov. 5, according to his death certificate obtained by the Citizen Times. Earlier reports from the Henderson Sheriff's Office put Barnette's death at 11:40 p.m. Nov. 4.

The Citizen Times wrote about Barnette's death in November but did not give his name because his next of kin had not been notified. Jail administrator Major Todd McCrain said in a March 12 email that deputies had communicated with a family member. The Citizen Times reached out to a brother and sister March 14 using emails and phone numbers listed for them.

McCrain and Stephanie Bracket, spokesperson for Sheriff Lowell Griffin, did not respond to March 14 messages asking, in part, about the possibility Burnette's death could have been avoided.

The death certificate, certified March 4 by Winston-Salem pathologist Dr. Jerri McLemore, said Barnette's dehydration was due to or "a consequence of probably gastrointestinal viral illness in the setting of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection."

The manner of death was listed as natural causes with cardiovascular disease as a contributing factor.

The Citizen Times has made public records requests for Barnette's autopsy and other records pertaining to the examination. A request was also made for an inspection of the Henderson Detention Center, something done after a detainee's death. The Citizen Times reached out March 14 to Chris Wood, the chief jail inspector for the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation under the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

The last detainee death was Feb. 16, 2021, according to McCrain, the jail administrator. That death was found to be of natural causes per an investigation that included a medical examiner's report and autopsy, he said. McCrain and Brackett did not respond to a message asking if there had been any deaths since Barnette's.

Jail deaths gained attention in Buncombe County after a Citizen Times investigation found it had the highest fatality rate among the state's biggest detention centers from 2008-2021, a period spanning two sheriff's administrations.

Barnette was jailed Sept. 5 on drug-related charges. He was convicted Oct. 25 of felony methamphetamine possession and felony probation violation, according to the Henderson clerk of court's office.

He was born in Tryon to the late Thomas Barnette and Trudy Foster Bull, according to his death certificate and an obituary. Barnette worked in retail and as a cook and last lived in south Hendersonville. He was preceded in death by his twin sister Sandy Barnette Heatherly and is survived by sister Sheila Pegg and brother Glenn Barnette.

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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Death cause determined for Western NC jail detainee