Man found dead in JPD holding cell

Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance, in a press conference flanked by Mayor Tony Yarber, told reporters Sunday that a man was found dead in a JPD holding cell around 6 a.m.

Jamal Mallard, 29, was found dead on the floor of a holding cell early Sunday, Vance said.

"We want to be as transparent as we possibly can about it," Yarber said.

A preliminary investigation shows that police were called to Courtview Street at 11:17 p.m. Saturday to look into a lawnmower theft. The responding officer spotted Mallard pushing a lawnmower down the street.

When he approached Mallard,  Mallard ran and eluded police, Vance said. Officers returned the lawnmower to its owner. Later they found Mallard asleep at his home.

Mallard was taken to headquarters and charged with petit larceny. He was booked at 3:43 a.m. He was discovered unresponsive around 6 a.m., at which point medical teams were called and he was pronounced dead.

Vance said  the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has been asked to conduct an investigation.  "We think it's probably the best course of action to take to ask an outside agency to come in and look into this."

There were no immediate signs of trauma to Mallard's body.

"No complaints of pain, nothing to indicate that something was going wrong with his health," Vance said.

"There's no information about any struggle between officers and this individual," Vance said.  He said police are also not aware of a medical history or history of drug use.

An autopsy has been scheduled.

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.