FBI Reviewing Macomb County Jail Inmate's In-Custody Death

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The FBI is investigating the circumstances that led to the death of a Macomb County Jail inmate who lost 50 pounds and died of prescription drug withdrawal while he was held in lockup for more than two weeks last summer.

David Stojcevski, 32, was serving a 30-day sentence at the jail in June 2014 for failure to appear in court on a careless driving traffic ticket, and died 16 days later after being rushed to a Mount Clemens hospital with breathing difficulties, according to the Detroit Free Press and other news organizations

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit claims that the county; its contracted medical and mental health care provider, Correct Care; and jail staff knowingly allowed Stojcevski to suffer through withdrawal.

In a statement, Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said he welcomed a meeting with the supervisory agent of the FBI office in Macomb County after the agency inquired about the circumstances of the death. He said he released all relevant documents and records, including jail surveillance video that reportedly showed Stojcevski, often naked in a highly visible mental health cell, as he suffered through the effects of withdrawal.

“I promote transparency within my office and look forward to the findings of the FBI,” Wickersham said in the release. “Any death that occurs in the Macomb County Jail is tragic; not only to the family of the deceased, but to the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office who oversee the care and custody of our 1,200 inmates daily. Due to the current lawsuit, I am unable to comment on the in-custody death.”

FBI spokeswoman Jill Washburn said the review is “routine procedure,” and that the review is being conducted with the U.S. Attorney’s Office civil rights section.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Vladimir Stojcevski, the victim’s brother and also an inmate of the jail on failure to appear on his own traffic violation in June 2014, seeks $75,000 in damages and a change in protocol for treatment of inmates while in custody.

An autopsy determined David Stojcevski died of “acute withdrawal.” The federal court complaint alleges he was denied prescribed doses of methadone, Xanax, Klonopin and oxycodone, and suffered seizures and hallucinations.

The county’s lawyer, John Schapka, has said he is confident the county will be vindicated in the lawsuit. The Associated Press reports a judge will consider a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Oct. 14.