Investigators: Eating cocaine from crack led to death, additional charges

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- Police say one of two brothers pulled cocaine out of his butt. The other brother then ate it and died within the hour.

Now, the brother who survived the ordeal is facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Police in North Charleston are looking for 23-year-old Deangelo Rashard Mitchell. He bonded out of jail on drug trafficking charges on December 1. Police say after toxicology results revealed his 20-year-old brother, Wayne Joshua Mitchell, died as a result of eating cocaine once hidden in Deangelo's posterior, they have decided to pursue more serious charges.

Investigators announced their plan to charge Denagelo Mitchell with manslaughter at a press conference on Monday.

The Mitchell brothers were arrested on November 30. While in the back of the police car, officers say Deangelo pulled the drugs from his buttocks and convinced his brother Wayne to eat them.

In a transcript taken from the in-car video, investigators said Deangelo told his brother, "You gonna eat it, you gotta chew it."

Later, officers said Deangelo told his brother, "One of us gotta do it, you the only one that don't have any strikes. ...You my little brother... I'm gonna get life."

When it was all said and done, officers say Wayne asked his brother to check his mouth.

"How my mouth is? Love you bruh."

The substance Wayne Mitchell ingested tested positive for cocaine. According to an incident report, his final moments were spent struggling to hold his head up and struggling to breathe. Officers said he had a blank look on his face and he was bleeding from his mouth when he was removed from the vehicle.

A white, powdery residue was observed in the seat where Wayne sat beside his brother. Deangelo Mitchell told officers Wayne swallowed about an ounce of cocaine.

Check back with ABC News 4 as we continue to develop this story.