Young woman dies in MCSO custody, details remain undisclosed

Maniesa Fletcher, 29, died in the custody of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on March 14. [Facebook]

A 29-year-old Ocala woman has died while in the custody of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the latest person to die while being incarcerated in the Marion County Jail. 

Maniesa Fletcher died at the AdventHealth Ocala Hospital at 3:59 p.m. on March 14. The circumstances surrounding her death have not been released by MCSO, but the woman’s brother said the family was notified by MCSO that Fletcher was brain dead the day before being pronounced deceased at the hospital.  

Fletcher is the 31st person to die in MCSO custody since 2021. She had been held at the jail since Sept. 10, 2024, awaiting trial on charges of assault on a law enforcement officer and depriving an officer of a weapon or communication device.  

Nationally, an average of about 1.40 deaths occurred annually per 1,000 incarcerated people in jails, according to the National Institute of Health. Given that Marion County Jail holds an average of 1,600 to 1,700 inmates at a time, and 31 inmates have died since January of 2021, the annual average of deaths in the jail is about 4.4 deaths per 1,000 incarcerated people per year.   

Fletcher was scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial conference on March 26. She was most recently represented by Public Defender Junior Barrett. 

Fletcher’s brother Garth Fletcher told the “Ocala Gazette” that his sister had long suffered from seizures, and that family members pleaded with jail staff to provide her the medication she needed prior to her untimely death.  

MCSO provided Fletcher’s name and date of death upon request but said the Major Crimes Unit is conducting an investigation into her death and no other details will be released until the investigation is complete.   

The “Gazette” has requested Fletcher’s autopsy report from the Medical Examiner’s Office for Districts 5 and 24, which the office said it will provide after the investigation is complete.  

As previously reported, upon the completion of internal investigation, if use-of-force is identified as the cause of death of an inmate, the case will be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for further investigation.  

MCSO has reported 28 deaths in custody to FDLE since 2021—excluding the death of Corey Merchant, who died in custody after an altercation with another inmate, and Patrick Wolfgang, who died in the process of being taken into custody by MCSO.  

Deaths in custody of MCSO are reported to FDLE, as the agency applies for grants for state funding. The federal Death in Custody Reporting Act law requires all local agencies to report deaths in custody to the state level, but Florida has no state law enforcing DCRA reporting except for if the agency wishes to apply for grants.  

Garth Fletcher said because of her seizures, Maniesa often suffered from episodes of psychosis. She was being treated by a doctor in Tampa, who had prescribed a medication to help negate the effects of the seizures, he said.   

Garth Fletcher said his sister’s altercations with law enforcement were due to her psychosis. He said his sister was frequently treated at The Vines Hospital, a mental health clinic in Ocala.  

She had previously served a 270-day sentence in jail, from Dec. 3, 2023, to Aug. 23, 2024, for resisting a law enforcement officer with violence, battery on an officer and depriving an officer of a weapon or communication device.  

She was also held in jail from Aug. 25, 2023, to Sept. 4, 2023, for assault on a firefighter or EMT and resisting an officer with violence.   

The “Gazette” will continue reporting on the circumstances surrounding Fletcher’s death and her cause of death once the Major Crimes investigation is complete.  

Editor’s Note:  Investigate This! at The Marshall Project provided guidance to the Ocala Gazette team on how to navigate obtaining information under the federal Death In Custody Reporting Act. 

For previous reporting on the Marion County Jail, visit the links below.  

Mayra Ramirez needed urgent hospitalization before her death in custody 

Family seeks answers in the death of 39-year-old inmate 

Whistleblower sues Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods 

Six more recent deaths in law enforcement custody come to light 

Florida has no law requiring deaths in custody to be reported by local law enforcement 

People in the Marion County Jail are suffering. This is why it matters. 

Jail footage shows inmate complied with orders before fatal use of force 

“Ocala Gazette” lawsuit against MCSO to be reassigned to another judge following hearing 

 ‘Ocala Gazette’ sues MCSO over video of jail inmate’s death at hands of deputies 

Family of Marion jail inmate who died in custody files wrongful death suit against sheriff 

No charges for officers involved in inmate death 

Inmate death at Marion County Jail prompts FDLE investigation