JAIL INMATE WHO HANGED HIMSELF DIES OF INJURIES
A 39-year-old Sonoma County Jail inmate died of injuries suffered when he
hanged himself with a pillowcase in his cell last week, authorities said
Tuesday.
Leobardo Medina Pacheco died Monday at Memorial Hospital, Sheriff's Lt. Rob
Giordano said.
Pacheco was serving a one-year sentence on marijuana and firearm charges.
The charges stemmed from a robbery in Pacheco's east Santa Rosa home in
November.
He had made suicidal statements and was being held in the jail's mental
health unit in a cell with a bunk bed and sheets and limited personal
property, Giordano said.
Pacheco had been checked by the mental health staff 30 minutes before he
was found hanging and by correctional deputy about eight minutes before and
given no cause for concern, Giordano said.
The preliminary findings of an autopsy conducted Tuesday indicated that he
died from a brain injury due to lack of oxygen consistent with suffocation.
During the failed robbery on Nov. 27, Pacheco exchanged gunfire with the
robbers. Pacheco was wounded. He shot and killed one of the robbers, a
20-year-old Windsor man.
Police found 300 pounds of marijuana and $26,000 in cash found at the home.
The surviving robbers initially were charged with murder as instigators of
the crime. That charge was dropped in a plea agreement with prosecutors. They
received lengthy prison sentences.
Four family members living in the home were arrested after the robbery and
charged with marijuana possession. Pacheco was arrested in December after he
was released from a hospital after treatment for his wound.
He was sentenced March 20 to a year in jail, according to court records. He
would have been released in about nine months due to time served while
awaiting trial.
Pacheco's death is under investigation by the Sheriff's Department and
District Attorney's Office.
You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or
randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.
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