Oakland native is 5th in-custody death at Santa Rita Jail
Antoine Dewhitt attends the death of his grandmother. Courtesy: family
OAKLAND, Calif. - A fifth person has died in the custody of Santa Rita Jail, KTVU has learned, after the sister of the man who died came forward, shedding some light on what happened to her brother.
5th person dies at Santa Rita
What we know:
FILE ART - Antoine Dewhitt
Antoinette Staples identified the 40-year-old man as Antoine Emel Dewhitt. He was pronounced dead on May 9 after suffering some type of "medical emergency" at Santa Rita Jail in mid-April, she said.
He was taken to Santa Rita on a probation violation and had been there for less than a day before being taken to the hospital, where the jail formally released him from custody. He died in the hospital roughly three weeks after being taken there because of complications related to an overdose, Staples said. His death certificate, provided by his sister, shows he had taken an "exessive amount of fentanyl."
Apparently, Dewhitt went to the hospital twice on the day he suffered his medical emergency, Staples said, but she can't figure out why he went there the first time, and why he was sent back to jail.
"I have so many questions," Staples said.
What we don't know:
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office mistakenly did not count him as an in-custody death because of an oversight, Sgt. Roberto Morales confirmed.
But after receiving information from Dewhitt's sister, Morales acknowledged what happened and will now count Dewhitt's death in this year's total of five in-custody deaths in 2026.
Staples came forward about her brother after noticing that a 36-year-old Oakland woman died, apparently by suicide at Santa Rita Jail, last month, wondering why her brother's death was never publicly announced.
To date, 80 people have died in custody at Santa Rita Jail since 2014, according to data and reporting by KTVU.
Brother had hard life
What they're saying:
Antoine Dewhitt and his late grandmother. Courtesy: family
Staples had not seen her brother for a while, and she described him having a hard life, which included 12 years in prison for larceny and carjacking.
She said he was born and raised in Oakland, where he attended Parker Elementary, King Estates Middle and Castlemont High schools. He later got his GED.
He was good with his hands and played drums for church, she said. He also loved to fish and was very good at building things, including makeshift toys he made her when the two were little. He even built her a tree swing and a basketball hoop.
"He could make something out of nothing," Staples said.
She also described him as a "hood chef, where he swore he cooked better than me," Staples said.
He had been released from prison in 2023 and had been "doing the best I had ever seen him," Staples said.
But a month later, their grandmother, Oletha Staples, died – she had raised him since their biological mother died when the two siblings were teens. Their biological mother had been a drug addict, Staples said, adding that she believed her brother was born addicted to drugs.
Dewhitt's own father had been incarcerated for most of his life, too.
Staples said a relative ended up taking everything and left him out of their grandmother's will, throwing away their "childhood in the dumpster. And just like that, everything Antoine had and knew was gone."
Shortly afterward, Dewhitt found himself back in Santa Rita Jail.
"I just wish he was dealt a better hand," Staples said. "We had a hard life growing up and we chose to cope in different ways. Underneath it, all he really ever wanted was a happy family."
He leaves behind his daughter, Akayla Dewhitt, girlfriend Latida Daniels and his sisters, who include Staples and Karess Reed. He also had many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Staples hopes to hold a memorial for her brother soon.
The Source: Information for this story comes from Antoinette Staples, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, KTVU reporting.