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'He Was Distraught And Sweating,' Says Roommate Of Man Who Died In Greensboro Police Custody

"I think he may have had an adverse effect from the medications he was on," said Paul Stevenson about the death of his roommate, Aaron Andrews.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A roommate who lived with a man who died in Greensboro Police custody says he's still in shock. 

Paul Stevenson only lived with 35-year-old, Aaron Andrews for a week. They were renting rooms in a house that was minutes away from the home police said Andrews tried to break into. However, he instead startled a mom and her two young kids at their home on Maybank Drive. The mother, Jessica Taylor called for help but police and EMS could not save Andrews. 

"I am still in shock about it. I mean I don't believe he was trying to break into anyone's house or trying to hurt anyone in any way," said Stevenson.

Andrews died shortly after, as he was about to be taken to the hospital, according to a statement from the Greensboro Police Department.

"I was talking to him in the morning and he seemed alright and I left to go and get a pack of cigarettes for me and him. I came back and he had left. He was walking down the street and I saw him on my bike on the way back," said Stevenson. 

"He was distraught and sweating and just really in a heightened sense of awareness. He said someone had broken into the house and he had to fight them. We walked back to the house and looked in and the place was kind of a wreck. It looked like something had happened. I asked him who it was and what they looked like and he couldn't describe them at all. I wondered what it was and he just walked off. I asked him if he was okay and he just kept on walking."

Stevenson said he didn't have a phone so another roommate called the police. "He thought there had been a break in or a fight and he called about that but I don't think there was anyone. It was all in his head honestly, but he seemed fine when I left in the morning. I am still in shock about it, " added Stevenson. 

When police arrived they asked for Andrews' description which matched the man the other officers had encountered at the house on Maybank Drive. "They said they had picked him up down the street at a woman's house with her kids banging on the door and causing a scene," said Stevenson.

Police said they found Andrews at Taylor's acting erratically. "He had taken my chairs, banging them against the door, banging it against the railings. I thought he was going to break in and harm me and my kids," said Jessica Taylor. 

RELATED: Greensboro Mayor Says She Will Request Body Cam Video Linked to Death of Man in Police Custody

"I heard him say 'mom' and that was one of the only words I understood and it's really sad because he was potentially just needing help," said Taylor who spoke to WFMY News 2 along with her husband Casey. 

"To me, if he really wanted to get in he would have got in but by the way, it sounds he needed some help but he was so far gone he didn't know how to ask for help," said Casey Taylor.

RELATED: ‘He Was Shouting, Banging On The Door,’: Mother Says Man Who Died In Police Custody Wanted His Mom

"I think he may have had an adverse effect from the medications he was on. It was that intense that it was apparently life or death and he needed help that badly," said Taylor.

The Andrews family said they're not ready to make a statement at this time but are distraught and just want to know what happened to their loved one.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said she will request the release of the body cam footage linked to the death of Aaron Andrews.

Greensboro Police have no comment and Andrews' death is still under investigation by the department as well as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

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