Cellmate charged with murder in 2024 death of inmate at Lee County Jail

The cellmate of a man who died while in the Lee County Jail has been charged with the man’s murder, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

LCSO said 39-year-old Shawn Dewon Callaway, of Auburn, was found dead inside his cell at the Lee County Detention Center around 4:54 a.m. on July, 20, 2024.

The Russell County Sheriff’s Office was called in to investigate the death, according to the release.

“To ensure impartiality, it is standard procedure for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to request an independent agency conduct any in-custody death of a Lee County inmate,” the release says.

Callaway’s body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences where an autopsy found he died from asphyxia due to neck compression, the release says.

LCSO said RCSO investigators discovered evidence that Callaway’s cellmate, 26-year-old Jimmy Jenkins Jr., of Tuskegee, was involved in Callaway’s death.

A Lee County grand jury returned an indictment on Feb. 27, charging Jenkins with intentional murder, the release says.

RCSO investigators served the murder indictment to Jenkins Monday at the Lee County Jail, where he is being held without bond, according to the release.