DEATH NEAR FOR INMATE MAN MAY HAVE HANGED HIMSELF.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A jail inmate was near death Wednesday after being found hanging from a telephone cord in a courthouse cell following his conviction on drug and gun offenses. Sheriff's deputies conducting a security check at the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Courthouse about 7 p.m. Tuesday found the 27-year-old inmate hanging in his holding cell, which was equipped with a public telephone. ``Deputies' lifesaving efforts resulted in restoring the inmate's pulse. Although paramedics arrived and continued life-saving efforts, the inmate is listed as 'death imminent' at a local hospital,'' a Sheriff's Department statement said. Sheriff's homicide detectives were investigating the incident as an attempted suicide since earlier in the day the inmate was found guilty of three separate felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. counts, the statement said. The man, whose name was not released, got out of state prison in March after serving 7 1/2 years on an attempted robbery conviction Noun 1. robbery conviction - conviction for robbery judgment of conviction, sentence, conviction, condemnation - (criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed; "the conviction came as no surprise" in an Antelope Valley case, state prison records show. On Tuesday, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance controlled substance n. a drug which has been declared by federal or state law to be illegal for sale or use, but may be dispensed under a physician's prescription. with a firearm firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. , possession of a firearm, and transportation of a controlled substance. The drug counts refer to cocaine base. The Antelope Valley Courthouse jury reached a verdict after deliberating about 2 1/2 hours following a five-day trial, said the man's attorney, Deputy Public Defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was Patricia Hutton-Payton. The defendant was facing about 12 to 13 years in prison, Hutton-Payton said. Hutton-Payton said there was no indication that the man would try to kill himself. ``He was upset. He didn't seem distressed. He just seemed upset,'' Hutton-Payton said. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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