WA- Inmate dies after suicide attempt

11-2-2009 Washington:

Man was awaiting sentencing for rape

An inmate at the Clark County Jail awaiting sentencing for a rape charge has died after hanging himself inside a jail cell.

William L. Ward died Oct. 28 of asphyxia, three days after he was found unconscious in a jail cell and rushed to Southwest Washington Medical Center.

Ward was in custody awaiting a Nov. 18 sentencing for third-degree rape. He was also serving time for driving under the influence and domestic violence fourth-degree assault convictions, said Clark County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Schanaker.

At about 6:45 p.m. Oct. 25, Ward's cell mate returned and found Ward hanging by his bedsheets from the cell's sprinkler system. The cell mate alerted a custody officer.

Officers performed CPR on Ward and managed to resuscitate him, Schanaker said. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. His body was released to the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled on the cause of death.

Schanaker said Ward had made earlier threats to commit suicide, but was not on suicide watch at the jail.

He was taking anti-anxiety and depression medications but had started "cheeking," or not swallowing his pills, Schanaker said. ..Source.. by LAURA MCVICKER
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

Case closed on fugitive sex offender

11-2-2009 Alaska:

Larry Berryhill found dead in Argentina after international manhunt

The state of Alaska last week closed the case of a fugitive sex offender from a prominent California political family who was found dead this summer in Argentina after an international manhunt.

Larry W. Berryhill, an accomplished former pole vault coach for Brigham Young University in Utah, was found dead on Aug. 24 in Tunuyan, Argentina, where he had fled to avoid going to prison in Alaska. He was convicted in Juneau Superior Court on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor on Feb. 27 for abusing two underage male employees at his fishing lodge in Gustavus. Berryhill was 64 years old at the time of his death.

Berryhill "never served a day in jail for his offenses and never was sentenced for his crimes in a way that provided closure for his victims in Alaska," according to court papers filed Oct. 27 by Juneau District Attorney Doug Gardner.

Berryhill was expected to serve between five and 15 years in prison on each count. The sentencing judge was to decide if the sentences would run consecutively or concurrently.

Authorities learned that prior to his death, Berryhill had been vacationing in New Zealand and throughout Europe after skipping his sentencing hearing on May 4, according to court documents. The Alaska State Troopers Fugitive Task Force learned that Berryhill had made his way to Argentina.

"He died in very short proximity to the time the troopers identified he was hiding in Argentina and where exactly he was hiding," Gardner said. "I don't know why he died. I just know that the body that the Stanislaus County (California) coroners graciously went and examined for us was him and I'm satisfied with the print cards and the analysis done that he is deceased."

A submitted obituary to newspapers in California where he was born said Berryhill died "unexpectedly of a heart attack." The obituary makes no mention of his sex abuse convictions and said, "He was in Argentina enjoying himself with friends when he passed away."

During the international search for Berryhill, it came to light that he allegedly sexually abused another male victim in Provo, Utah, according to court documents. The fugitive task force also learned that Berryhill was investigated by the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office and the Ceres Police Department for allegedly sexually abusing multiple victims in California in the 1980s.

Berryhill was indicted by a grand jury in 2007 on three counts of sexual abuse of a minor after an underage boy working at the Great Chinook Lodge reported to state troopers that he had been molested in June 2006. A second employee told investigators that Berryhill sexually abused him at the lodge in 2001.

Both victims testified during the trial that they were athletes that took summer jobs at the fishing lodge in Gustavus for adventure and athletic instruction, according to court documents. Both victims testified that Berryhill had sexually abused them during athletic massages at the lodge.

Berryhill and both victims were all active members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints, according to court records.

Berryhill was from a prominent Republican political family in California. His brother, Mike Berryhill, announced he is running for U.S. Congress in 2010 and two of his cousins are presently serving in the California State Assembly.

It is not very common for a convicted felon to flee before being sentenced, but it does happen, Gardner said.

"It doesn't happen often, but we did have one situation (earlier this year) where a person ran to Mexico and the state troopers were able to get that person back," he said.

The Alaska Legislature "dramatically increased" sentencing laws for sex crimes several years ago, Gardner said.

"I think that as the penalties for the sex crimes have increased, I have to think the prospects of someone running would increase," he said. "That may be what happened in this case."

Presently under Alaska law, people who are convicted of an unclassified or Class A felony sex crime are not allowed to be released on bail.

"Because Mr. Berryhill was convicted of a B felony, he was entitled to bail," Gardner said. "In sex offense cases, with the new sentencing laws, I think that that's riskier now." ..Source.. by Eric Morrison | Juneau Empire

MI- Inmate dies at county jail

10-27-2009 Michigan:

A St. Joseph man convicted of abusing his 6-year-old daughter apparently committed suicide by hanging himself in the Buchanan County Jail on Saturday.

Sheriff Mike Strong told the News-Press on Monday that the body of inmate Adam R. Lee, 36, underwent an autopsy and the department is awaiting the toxicology report.

“As it stands right now, nothing seems out of the ordinary,” Mr. Strong said. “There was no indication to any of our medical staff that this guy was threatening or going to do this.”

The sheriff added that Mr. Lee’s cell mate had been removed the day before and Mr. Lee was only by himself for a short period of time before the incident happened.

Mr. Lee was sentenced to one year in jail last month by Associate Judge Keith Marquart, who found the defendant guilty of third-degree assault at the conclusion of a court trial in August.

The Class A misdemeanor assault charge stemmed from an incident during which Mr. Lee choked his 6-year-old daughter. His three children were living with a foster family at the time after children’s services removed them from the defendant’s home due to unsanitary living conditions.

During his sentencing, Mr. Lee admitted that he tried to kill himself in jail after his conviction and was depressed. But the defendant testified he was doing much better since starting on anti-depressants.

Carol Jenkins, a friend of Mr. Lee’s from their days at Lafayette High School, said she hadn’t talked to him in quite some time but the news still came as a shock.

“I hate that this happened. He was a good guy. I didn’t know that life was that bad,” she said. “This is going to have an effect on a lot of people.”

Sheriff Strong said the last death in the jail, which occurred about two years ago by his recollection, was due to an overdose.

“I don’t think we’ve had (a suicide) here in the last three, four or five years, but it happens in other institutions,” Mr. Strong said.

The sheriff added that if the department’s medical staff saw indications Mr. Lee intended to harm himself, they would’ve taken him out of his cell, dressed him in special clothing and kept a vigilant watch over him.

“That was not the case on this individual,” said Mr. Strong, who told the News-Press that his staff performed standard checks on Mr. Lee. “This was an isolated incident.” ..Source.. by R.J. Cooper

OK- Convicted sex offender dies after setting himself on fire

This one is very disturbing because police sat there, doing nothing to stop him for 30 minutes, claiming they were afraid he was armed. Normally, police would stop a person -under any circumstances- from committing suicide, why were there no attempts here?

10-23-2009 Oklahoma:

A convicted sex offender burned to death when he set himself on fire as authorities served a warrant at his rural Tulsa County home Thursday.

Tulsa County sheriff’s deputies and state Pardon & Parole Board officers were sent to a house in the 14100 block of East Apache Street to contact Johnnie Joe Hobbs, 47, Capt. John Bowman said.

After finding the house empty, the squad peered into a cargo van that sat in the cluttered yard about 3 p.m. Hobbs, who was inside the van, reached out and slammed the door shut, Bowman said.

He then doused the van with gasoline and ignited it, Bowman said. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Bowman said Hobbs had spent time in prison and had indicated that he would do anything to avoid capture.

“There are a lot of people that will do a lot of things to keep from going back to jail,” he said. “To use a flammable liquid to ignite where they are, I have not seen that before.”

Investigators from the Tulsa Fire Department searched through the charred van into the evening, working around piles of garbage that were scattered about the property on the northeastern edge of Tulsa County.

Bowman said that because of the volatile nature of the incident, firefighters didn’t immediately enter the van to douse the flames. There were concerns that Hobbs might have been armed, but no weapons were found after a preliminary search.

About 30 minutes after Hobbs set the vehicle ablaze, authorities entered it and discovered his body in the cab, Bowman said.

The deputies had intended to serve three protective orders on Hobbs, and the parole officers were sent to revoke his suspended sentence for a Muskogee County conviction, Bowman said.

A relative of Hobbs’ gave officials a key to the house, and two of his siblings were in the area as the van burned, Bowman said.

Hobbs was the subject of protective orders in both Tulsa and Rogers counties, court records indicate. He also had been convicted of showing obscene material to a child, lewd molestation and making lewd proposals to a child. ..Source.. by MATT BARNARD and NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writers



Tulsan burns himself to death

10-23-2009 Oklahoma:

The convicted sex offender sets himself afire as authorities attempt to serve him with a warrant.

A convicted sex offender burned to death when he set himself on fire as authorities served a warrant at his rural Tulsa County home Thursday.

Tulsa County sheriff's deputies and state Pardon and Parole Board officers were sent to a house in the 14100 block of East Apache Street to contact Johnnie Joe Hobbs, 47, Capt. John Bowman said.

After finding the house empty, the squad peered into a cargo van that sat in the cluttered yard about 3 p.m. Hobbs, who was in the van, reached out and slammed the door shut, Bowman said.

He then doused the van with gasoline and ignited it, Bowman said. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Bowman said Hobbs had spent time in prison and had indicated that he would do anything to avoid capture.

"There are a lot of people that will do a lot of things to keep from going back to jail," he said. "To use a flammable liquid to ignite where they are, I have not seen that before."

Investigators from the Tulsa Fire Department searched through the charred van into the evening, working around piles of garbage that were scattered about the property on the northeastern edge of Tulsa County.

Bowman said that because of the volatile nature of the incident, firefighters didn't immediately enter the van to douse the flames. There were concerns that Hobbs might have been armed, but no weapons were found after a preliminary search.

About 30 minutes after Hobbs set the vehicle ablaze, authorities entered it and discovered his body in the cab, Bowman said.

The deputies had intended to serve three protective orders on Hobbs, and the parole officers were sent to revoke his suspended sentence for a Muskogee County conviction, Bowman said.

A relative of Hobbs' gave officials a key to the house, and two of his siblings were in the area as the van burned, Bowman said.

Hobbs was the subject of protective orders in both Tulsa and Rogers counties, court records indicate.

He also had been convicted of showing obscene material to a child, lewd molestation and making lewd proposals to a child. ..Source.. by Matt Barnard 581-8408, Nicole Marshall 581-8459

MD- Former Associated Press bureau chief for city kills self

10-23-2009 Maryland:

The former chief of the Associated Press' Baltimore bureau committed suicide at his Forest Hill home Saturday evening, a day after he was charged with multiple counts of sexual child abuse, the Harford County sheriff's office told the Aegis newspaper.

John Edward Woodfield Sr., 80, had been free on $100,000 bond since Friday, according to the sheriff's office, when his wife asked deputies to check on him Saturday. When deputies entered Woodfield's home, they found his body in a second-floor bathtub, holding a handgun, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy by the state medical examiner's office ruled his death a suicide.

Woodfield was charged Friday with sexually molesting two boys, ages 7 and 10, for about five years, according to charging documents reported by the newspaper. The boys reported the incidents to members of the county's child advocacy center.

The newspaper said in an article published Wednesday that when Woodfield's wife confronted him about the accusations, he threatened to kill himself if police became involved.

The paper reported that Woodfield was charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, a second-degree sex offense and a third-degree sex offense.

It also reported that in a call to the sheriff's office Saturday, the wife reported that her husband had found the weapon and bullets she had hidden earlier.

According to the AP, Woodfield worked for the news service for 30 years and was the Baltimore bureau chief for 19 years before retiring in 1991. ..Source.. by Richard Irwin