Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Kenneth Ray Garten Jr., 30, of Bassett, used a bedsheet to hang himself from the upper bars of his cell, Sheriff Frank Cassell said. A jail officer found Garten hanging about 7:10 p.m. Monday, and a corrections officer's efforts to revive him failed, according to a news release from the Henry County Sheriff's Office.
Cassell said Garten and the first suicide victim, Brian David Young, 25, had to crouch to kill themselves because they would not have suffocated had they stood erect.
Garten was pronounced dead on arrival at Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County at 8:10 p.m., said hospital spokesman Bill Evans.
Cassell said he has no plans to make changes at the jail, but will consider any suggestions that may come from Robert Cooper, manager for the western region of the state Department of Corrections.
The state plans to conduct a review of procedures at the jail today. If nothing needs to be changed, there will be no official report, Cooper said.
``I don't know of anything that could prevent something like this,'' Cassell said. ``You can't put people in jail and take everything and leave them naked.''
Capt. Wayne Dodson did say one possible change would be to enclose the top bars in the one-person cells.
"But with our monetary position, it would be impossible to redesign the building," Dodson said.
Cooper said the jail consistently has received high marks during inspections. During the last inspection less than a year ago, the jail ``scored 100 percent the first time around,'' he said.
Garten was arrested about 5 p.m. Monday on a charge of breaking and entering, Cassell said. He also was charged with grand larceny and possession of marijuana. When he was brought into custody, it was discovered that he also was being sought on a petty larceny charge in Roanoke County.
Officers issued Garten a sheet because he was not thought to be a suicide risk, said Cassell, who described Garten as ``an old customer.''
During standard questioning at the jail, Garten said he wasn't considering suicide, Cassell said.
On April 9, Young hanged himself with his belt. The belt was not taken from him when he was processed as an inmate because Young was wearing his shirt outside his pants and the belt was not immediately visible, police said at the time.
Cassell called Young's death ``a tragic thing that should not have happened'' and said the failure to remove his belt was ``just a mistake.''
Young was being held overnight on a charge of driving under the influence.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB