CCSO: FBI investigating Sheffield man found hanging at abandoned home

COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a man found hanging in an abandoned house in Colbert County, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Colbert County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) told News 19 that the FBI would be investigating the death of 40-year-old Dennoriss Richardson after a request from the sheriff’s office.

CCSO said Richardson was found hanging from the carport of an abandoned house last month. Sheriff Balentine said when he and his office investigated, they ruled the death a suicide. He said the request for the investigation by the FBI came after Richardson’s family disagreed with that conclusion.

“We did an extensive investigation, we treat every death as a homicide until we rule it out, so we are confident in our rulings that this was a suicide,” the sheriff said, “but there has been some concerns from the family, over issues they had in the past involving a lawsuit with the city of Sheffield”

The sheriff said a couple of weeks ago deputies responded to a call on Highway 72 East regarding a suspicious vehicle.

“When deputies arrived on scene, the vehicle was located but it was unoccupied so they began to walk around the residence and they located Mr. Richardson in the carport, he was hanging,” Balentine explained to News 19’s Whitney Leibold.

Richardson’s attorney has also said the death came after Richardson filed an excessive force complaint against multiple Sheffield Police Officers earlier this year.

That lawsuit was filed in February. The filing says Richardson was “subjected to unconstitutional arrests and violence at the hands of the Sheffield Police Department officer while in the lobby of Sheffield Municipal Court and in jail in the City of Sheffield from November 30 to December 1 of 2022.”

The lawsuit also claims that Richardson was attacked by police while in jail and attempting to use a phone to call for medical attention in January of 2024.

Richardson’s Attorney Dr. Roderick Van Daniel released a statement regarding the sheriff’s office’s decision to call in the FBI.

“This is a family issue,” he said. “Community issue for Colbert County, State of Alabama, and the United States of America. I am grateful to know that a federal investigation will be done. We all are seeking the truth, understanding, and justice. We all are Americans and have the same concerns with living in a safe and peaceful community. Someone hung on the porch should not be seen as an everyday occurrence. I believe in the principles of this country and the words within the Constitution “

Balentine said the decision to ask the FBI to investigate the case comes from these concerns from the family and his wish to be transparent, but that his office stands behind their investigation.

“Because of their concerns, we wanted to be transparent, we feel confident in our investigation, but because of their concerned, we requested a letter of request to review the case to the FBI, we were notified last week, that they would review the case,” he said.

Richardson was facing state and federal drug trafficking charges at the time of his death.

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