Lee County jail inmate charged in strangulation death of cellmate

A Lee County Detention Center inmate has been indicted in the killing of his cellmate.

Sheriff’s officials on Monday announced the murder charge for 26-year-old Jimmy Jenkins Jr. of Tuskegee.

He is charged in the strangulation death of 39-year-old Shawn Dewon Callaway.

Callaway, of Auburn, was found dead at 4:54 a.m. on July 20, 2024.

Russell County Sheriff’s Office authorities were brought in to lead the investigation.

An autopsy by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences showed Callaway died from asphyxia due to neck compression.

The indictment was issued Feb. 27 and served on Jenkins earlier today. He remains held without bond.

Jenkins is awaiting trial for an unrelated second-degree rape. That trial is set for later this month.