Suspected child molester died by hanging in East Bay jail

6-24-2016 California:

MARTINEZ — An inmate at the Contra Costa County jail in Martinez who died in a shower has been identified as suspected child molester Alexander Legaspi, authorities said Friday.

Legaspi, 57, of Bay Point, was found unconscious in a shower of the Martinez Detention Facility with a bed sheet tied to the shower frame Thursday. Legaspi was originally arrested July 6, 2015 on suspicion of 15 counts of child molestation.

A deputy found him about 7:15 a.m. after being notified by another inmate, spokesman Jimmy Lee said Thursday Medical staff responded. The deputy gave Legaspi CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy was conducted Friday morning and the cause of his death was deemed to be by hanging, authorities said. Per county protocol, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office is investigating the death, along with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. ..Source.. by Angela Ruggiero

Alleged Child Molester Commits Suicide While in Custody

2-22-17 California:

Big Bear, California – San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department has released a statement stating that Richard Harold Todd, a 60 years old resident of Big Bear City, was taken into custody on suspicion of child molestation.

Todd was apprehended on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 1:20 p.m, without incident, when a search warrant was served on a residence located in the 300 block of East Country Club Blvd. He was then booked at Big Bear jail for Sexual Molestation of a Minor, Possession of Child Pornography and Possession of an Illegal Assault Rifle.

The jail deputy discovered Todd hanging in his cell on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 4:20 a.m. The deputy promptly cut the shoelaces, from which he was hanging, then proceeded to call for medical aid. The medical responders pronounced him dead on scene, Todd was housed alone in his cell at the time of the incident.

Sheriff’s Homicide Detail responded and are conducting the investigation. Riverside County Coroner will conduct the autopsy to determine the cause of death. ..Source.. by Ty Steel

Clare County Jail inmate found dead

1-22-17 Michigan:

State police from the Mt. Pleasant post are investigating the death of a Clare County Jail inmate.

John Engel, 54, of Harrison was found dead in his cell by deputies and corrections staff at roughly 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Clare County Undersheriff Dwayne Miedzianowski said.

It appears Engel committed suicide, the undersheriff said.

Deputies contacted state police and turned the investigation over, Miedzianowski said.

Engel was in jail awaiting transfer to the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center at the state prison in Jackson, where male prisoners are taken before being placed.

Inmate, accused of sex crimes, dies in the Harnett County jail

12-21-16 North Carolina:

LILLINGTON A Harnett County inmate awaiting trial on felony sex charges was found dead in his cell on Tuesday morning.

Charles Robert Johnson, 53, was discovered unresponsive during Harnett County Detention Center cell checks at about 6:07 a.m., according to a sheriff’s office release. EMS units were summoned to treat Johnson at the detention center, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials did not observe any obvious signs that pointed to a cause of Johnson’s death, the release said.

The State Bureau of Investigation was notified of Johnson’s death and is now in charge of the investigation, the release said. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.

Johnson had been confined to the jail since Aug. 16, and was awaiting a Jan. 24 trial on several felony sex charges involving possession of child pornography and a statutory sexual offense with a child. ..Source.. by Chris Cioffi

Inmate Who Committed Suicide in County Jail is Alleged Child Molester from Bay Point

6-24-16 California:

The man who committed suicide in the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez this week is an alleged child molester from Bay Point, according to the Office of the Sheriff.

The deceased inmate has been identified as 57-year-old Alexander Legaspi of Bay Point. Legaspi was originally arrested by the Office of the Sheriff on July 6, 2015. He was being held on 15 felony counts of child molestation; his bail was set at $22,000,000, the Sheriff’s Office said.

On Thursday at about 7:15 a.m. during morning recreation time, an inmate notified a Deputy that there was an inmate passed out in the shower.

The Deputy immediately responded and found Legaspi slumped over inside the shower. A bed sheet was tied to the shower frame.

Adams County jail inmate kills himself after arrest following 15-year manhunt

3-29-16 Colorado:

An inmate at the Adams County jail, who was arrested last month after 15 years on the run from charges in Ohio, committed suicide on Sunday, officials say.

David Lee Skelly, 40, was being held in lieu of $1 million bail when deputies found him unresponsive in his cell.

The county sheriff’s office said in a Tuesday news release that lifesaving efforts by guards and an ambulance crew were unsuccessful. Authorities did not say how Skelly took his life.

Skelly was arrested Feb. 26 in Westminster by police and U.S. Marshals outside his workplace, the Residence Inn, after trying to flee on foot.

Sex offender hangs himself in jail

6-13-16 North Carolina:

A Gaston County sex offender has died after he was found hanging in his jail cell last week, less than three hours after his arrest.

John William Gluth Jr., 44, was charged June 7 for failing to report his new Gastonia address to the Sheriff's Department. He was given a $250,000 bond.

He didn't live to see his first court appearance.

Found hanging

"He was found hanging in his cell," said Darrell Griffin, assistant chief of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office. "He was unresponsive and not breathing."

Gluth died Friday at CaroMont Regional Medical Center.

Gluth went to his cell, alone, at 11:49 a.m. that day while other inmates congregated in a common area. A deputy doing routine checks found Gluth at 12:19 p.m., unresponsive and not breathing with a bed sheet tightened around his neck, Griffin said.

Sex offender hangs himself in jail

6-13-2016 South Carolina:

A Gaston County sex offender has died after he was found hanging in his jail cell last week, less than three hours after his arrest.

John William Gluth Jr., 44, was charged June 7 for failing to report his new Gastonia address to the Sheriff's Department. He was given a $250,000 bond.

He didn't live to see his first court appearance.

Found hanging

"He was found hanging in his cell," said Darrell Griffin, assistant chief of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office. "He was unresponsive and not breathing."

Gluth died Friday at CaroMont Regional Medical Center.

Lawsuit claims Department of Correction let Rikers Island inmate hang himself

2-5-16 New York:

The city Department of Correction let a Rikers Island inmate hang himself by ignoring a request to transfer the troubled man to suicide watch, a new suit alleges.

Fabian Cruz, 35, a convicted sex offender from Staten Island, killed himself in his holding cell New Year’s Day — hours after a psychologist recommended he be put under round-the-clock supervision, the Bronx Supreme Court suit says. Instead, Cruz was allowed to return to his cell — where his body was discovered in a routine check.

The suit seeks unspecified damages for Cruz’s mother and three children. Cruz had been awaiting a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to sexually abusing his girlfriend’s daughter.

The city Law Department said it would review the suit. ..Source.. by Ben Kochman, Reuven Blau

Martinez: Inquest set for Discovery Bay child molester's in-custody death

11-15-15 California:

MARTINEZ -- Coroner's officials said they will hold a public inquest next month into a prisoner's in-custody death last June, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

Discovery Bay resident John Raymond Hansen, 54, died at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center on June 11, two days after Martinez Detention Facility staff found him unconscious in a housing module from an apparent hanging, authorities said.

Hansen was convicted of 10 felony counts of child molestation for sexually abusing three girls between the ages of 10 and 14 in Discovery Bay in 2006 though 2014.

There were other convictions for intimidating victim witnesses, and for assaulting a Contra Costa Sheriff's detective. According to court records, Hansen was drunk when he bit a detective on her hand when she was trying to interview him on the day of his 2014 arrest.

Duchesne County Jail inmate waiting for sentencing found dead by apparent suicide

9-24-15 Utah:

DUCHESNE, Utah — A Duchesne County Jail inmate has been found dead by apparent suicide days after he was convicted.

The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/1LPeM1h ) that 60-year-old Michael Alan Baker, of Duchesne, was found unresponsive Tuesday in the shower area of the jail.

Duchesne County Sheriff's Lt. Jeremy Curry says the death appears to be a suicide.

Baker was convicted on Sept. 16 of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; lewdness by a sex offender, a third-degree felony; and lewdness involving a child by a sex offender, a third-degree felony. He was scheduled to be sentenced in October. ..Source.. by Daily Journal

Gymnastics coach accused of child molestation found dead

9-20-15 Indiana:

An Indianapolis gymnastics coach who trained two members of the 2008 U.S. women's Olympics team was found dead of an apparent suicide in his jail cell, where he was being held on charges of child pornography and molestation, authorities said Sunday.

Marvin Sharp, 49, was found unresponsive at 8:17 p.m. Saturday in his cell at the Marion County Jail, sheriff's spokeswoman Katie Carlson said in a statement. She said foul play isn't suspected, but that she couldn't provide further information.

"A follow up investigation is being conducted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the Marion County Coroner's Office," Carlson said.

Sharp, who was the USA Gymnastics 2010 Coach of the Year, was arrested Aug. 24 on four local counts of child molestation and three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Federal prosecutors, in a superseding indictment filed Sept. 14, also charged Sharp with nine counts of producing child pornography since 2002 involving six female students as young as 6 or 7 years old.

Coroner says New Orleans inmate charged with rape killed himself with a telephone cord

3-27-15 Louisiana:

New Orleans' coroner says preliminary autopsy results indicate that an inmate found in a holding cell in the city's notorious prison this week killed himself with a telephone cord.

Coroner Jeffrey C. Rouse says Ryan Miller's autopsy took place with an independent forensic pathologist chosen by Miller's family present.

Rouse says a final determination about Miller's death will be made after further investigation. Toxicology results are pending.

Miller had been charged with aggravated rape involving a 12-year-old victim. He was found Monday night with a telephone cord around his neck and died early Tuesday.

Accused rapist dies while in custody

1-7-2015 California:

A San Marcos man jailed on suspicion of rape died of an apparent suicide while in custody, authorities said Wednesday.

Jason Edward Stey, 27, died at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. John Maryon.

Earlier in the day, the sheriff’s department said Stey — who allegedly beat, choked and raped a North County smoke-shop clerk at her workplace last weekend — was hospitalized after trying to kill himself in his jail cell.

A guard found Stey injured at Vista Detention Center Tuesday afternoon, according to sheriff’s public affairs. He was admitted to a trauma unit at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

Officials declined to disclose the nature of Stey’s injuries.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Stey allegedly attacked a worker at Dab Central Smoke Shop in the 900 block of West San Marcos Boulevard.

Suit: Montgomery County prison allowed suspected sex offender’s suicide

12-29-2014 Pennsylvania:

The wife of an accused sex offender who committed suicide after the denial of his bail reduction request blames the medical staff at the prison for not properly monitoring her husband’s psychiatric condition, according to a wrongful death suit filed at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Pamela Minnich, of Media, Pa., seeks damages in excess of $175,000 on five counts against the Montgomery County government and Prime Care Medical, a third-party health care company contracted to provide medical care to detainees and inmates at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

According to the complaint, Minnich’s husband, David, was arrested on Oct. 16, 2012, on multiple counts of corruption of a minor, indecent sexual assault of persons under the age of 13 and under the age of 16 and aggravated indecent assault of a child. Unable to pay the $500,000 bail, Minnich was taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility as a pretrial detainee.

Having never been incarcerated before, Minnich began to display signs of extreme anxiety, the complaint says. According to the claim, Minnich came under the care of medical staff employed by Prime Care Medical and was placed on a schedule for a psychiatrist.

The complaint accuses the defendants of deliberately delaying the psychiatric appointment and ignored Minnich’s increased warnings that his mental state was deteriorating. He was finally seen on Dec. 3, 2012, but the suit says the psychiatrist deliberately ignored the signs of depression and suicide and refused to place Minnich under any medication or treatment.

Rikers Island inmate who hanged himself was supposed to be on suicide watch, officials say

1-2-2015 New York:

A mentally ill inmate who hanged himself on New Year's Day in a Rikers Island jail cell was supposed to be placed on suicide watch, but it wasn't implemented, two city officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

A jail psychiatrist who saw Fabian Cruz on Wednesday at a clinic ordered that Cruz be transferred to a special observation unit in a different Rikers facility where he'd be placed under constant watch, but Cruz told a guard at the clinic he didn't want to go and was transferred back to his jail cell, the officials said.

Letting Cruz go back to his cell was a violation of Department of Correction protocol because inmates don't get to decide where they're housed, said one of the officials, who both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation into what happened.

The guard also was supposed to contact a supervising captain after the suicide watch was ordered but didn't, the official said.

Cruz, 35, was discovered Thursday evening and was pronounced dead by a jail doctor. The correction officer at the clinic has been placed on modified duty.

Inmate at San Juan County Adult Detention Center fatally hangs self

12-22-2014 New Mexico:

FARMINGTON — An inmate died after hanging himself with a shredded bed sheet in his cell at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center on Monday, according to authorities.

Stephen Freeman, 53, from Bloomfield, was scheduled for a jury trial in Aztec District Court on Dec. 30 for narcotic drug charges among other charges, according to court records. He also was a convicted sex offender, according to court records.

Freeman showed no signs he was contemplating suicide, said Cory Tanner, a San Juan County Sheriff's Office detective lieutenant.

"His neighboring cell mates said that he didn't say anything about it," he said.

Deputies were dispatched to the jail before noon, according to a sheriff's office press release. Sheriff's office Detective Sgt. Kyle Lincoln said medics also responded.

Man Accused of Raping and Filming Son Found Hanged in His Jail Cell

11-30-2014 Alabama:

A man who was accused of imprisoning, raping and filming sex acts with his young son was reportedly found dead on Monday night.

Carl Philip Herold was facing some 18 child sex counts in Alabama. He was found hanged in his cell as he was headed to face federal charges in New York.

Herold's attorney, Adam Bollaert, said that Herold likely committed suicide as he prepared to face the charges on Nov. 21 in a Syracuse federal court.

Bollaert said that when he last saw Herold last week, “he had great spirits, he seemed up and was ready to continue fighting this case. So, we don’t understand what happened.”

Herold was arrested in Alabama in November 2013. The 33-year-old man had a computer programming background and ran a popular YouTube channel where he livestreamed programming lessons.

Carl Philip Herold found hanged in Alabama jail, faced multiple child sex charges in Huntsville

11-4-2014 Alabama:

Carl Philip Herold, charged with multiple counts of sodomy and child sex abuse along with his domestic partner, was found dead of an apparent suicide in a Clay County jail last night.

Herold, 33, was being transported by U.S. Marshals from the Madison County Jail to New York last week to face federal child pornography charges.

He was found dead last night, hanged in his cell, his attorney Adam Bollaert said this afternoon. Herold was scheduled to appear in federal court in Syracuse on Nov. 21.

Bollaert said today that Herold had been transferred by the U.S. Marshals from the Madison County Jail last week. Herold was taken to a federal holding facility in Cullman and transferred with Clay County, which also houses federal prisoners, sometime over the weekend.

Sheriff - Brunswick inmate kills self in cell

9-11-2014 North Carolina:

A Brunswick County jail inmate who earlier this week led police on a car chase apparently killed himself in his cell, an official said.

Michael Rago, 33, was found unresponsive in his jail cell at 11:14 a.m. Thursday, said Brunswick County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Emily Flax.

"He is the victim of an apparent suicide," Flax said in a new release. "During the initial stages of these investigations, there have been no indication of foul play, nor have there been any apparent violation of (sheriff's office) policies and procedures."

Rago and Elizabeth Ashley Ventiquattro, 35, both of Ocean Isle Beach, were arrested Monday after security officers accused the two of shoplifting and returning stolen merchandise for cash at the Walmart in Southport, said Southport Police Chief Jerry Dove.