A man died after an NC jailhouse fight. Now another inmate has been charged.

An inmate has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the March death of a man at the Orange County Detention Center.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has accused Tyler Lloyd Grantz, 21, of unintentionally killing Maurice Antoine King, 34.

King died in the emergency room at Duke University Medical Center in Durham after an incident in his Orange County jail cell.

King and Grantz had an altercation in the cell at 6:35 p.m. March 4, the Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release. King asked for his asthma inhaler shortly after 8 p.m.

Jail staff called an ambulance when King reported having shortness of breath after the fight, Durham County medical examiner Matthew Crittenden stated in the autopsy report. King told the ambulance crew that he had been hit in the head and choked.

At the hospital, King went into cardiac arrest and could not be revived, Crittenden said. He died at 10:22 p.m.

The district attorney’s office conducted a lengthy investigation, which included reviewing camera footage and interviewing witnesses before charging Grantz. The video showed some of what happened, but did not show the fight, Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jim Woodall said in an interview Wednesday with The News & Observer.

“The two inmates engaged in a fight, and of course, it resulted in one man’s death,” Woodall said. “Our feeling is that, based on the law, there was not self-defense and that excessive force may have been used.”

He declined to elaborate except to say “information suggests it may have started over a card game.”

An autopsy shows King likely died from blunt force injury, leading to acute cardiac arrhythmia. King’s weight and his asthma contributed to his death, the autopsy states.

Federal inmate awaiting trial

King was a federal inmate being held in the jail awaiting additional court hearings. He pleaded guilty in February to three counts of federal drug trafficking charges involving cocaine hydrochloride.

Orange County has an agreement to house federal prisoners like King who are awaiting trial or being moved between facilities, for $93 a day. Of the jail’s 71 inmates on Wednesday, 15 were federal prisoners.

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Alicia Stemper said King got into an argument with several other inmates at the Hillsborough jail. The disagreement escalated with at least one of them, she said.

Accused man charged with shooting at NC state trooper

Grantz has been in custody since his arrest on March 5, 2019. He was charged with possession of a stolen firearm, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, and carry/use, by discharging firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, the release stated.

He was charged after he shot at a North Carolina state trooper who tried to pull him over for speeding., the release stated. Grantz crashed the stolen vehicle, and fled after shooting at the trooper again, it stated.

Grantz was convicted in February and is awaiting transfer to a federal prison for his 30-year sentence followed by five years of supervised release.

Crittenden notes that he contacted the jail about video of what happened and learned there was no video, because the jail’s cameras do not capture images inside the cells. The county is building a new northern campus jail west of Hillsborough off U.S. 70. The new jail will replace one built in 1925 to house 34 inmates. The current jail has been renovated multiple times but has significant problems and lacks modern jail infrastructure.

Crittenden said the Sheriff’s Office did not provide any other videos or reports about the fight. He was directed to the FBI office in Raleigh for additional information about the investigation, but the FBI agent in charge of the case never returned his call, he said.

In 2017, Durham police charged King with 81 felony drug-related counts and confiscated 258 grams, or more than a half-pound, of cocaine from his home, The N&O reported. His arrest followed what police described as a long investigation, and King had previous convictions on drug, firearms and indecent liberties with a child charges.

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 5:31 PM.