NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - North Charleston police are looking for a man they say asked his little brother to eat cocaine in the back of a police car. That brother later died and high levels of cocaine were found in his system.
Police officers say that on Nov. 30 they pulled over a car on Clements Avenue for a headlight that was out. Police say they asked to search the vehicle and found bags with white powder in it.
Officers put the two brothers, DeAngelo and Wayne Mitchell in the back of a police cruiser while they searched the car. That is when officers say DeAngelo Mitchell told his brother he couldn't afford another strike against him and pulled drugs out of a body cavity and handed them to his brother.
According to police, Wayne Mitchell then ate the cocaine. DeAngelo Mitchell started yelling when his brother started having trouble holding his head up. Mitchell later died at a hospital.
"It's sickening, I got upset when I saw the thing, I'm pretty shocked about it," said North Charleston police chief Jon Zumalt.
Charleston County coroner Rae Wooten says that Wayne Mitchell died within an hour from cocaine toxicity. Wooten said there was an extremely high amount of the drug in his body. She says there is no way to tell how much he actually ate.
"For me, an older brother is supposed to love his little brother, have his back and take good care of him, that's not what was happening in this car," Zumalt said.
DeAngelo Mitchell told officers that he thought his brother swallowed an ounce of cocaine.
Zumalt says at the time DeAngelo Mitchell was only facing drug charges. In addition to those charges, he will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
According to police, the suspect's drug supplier, 34-year-old Kelly Judon Gamble, was eventually charged with trafficking.
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