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SUNNY Temp: 70 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Monday, July 28, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 25, 2002 Facing ‘third strike,’ inmate kills himself By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A California man held in the Jackson County Jail apparently committed suicide early Thursday by hanging himself with a bed sheet. Paul Ernest Leyva, 39, of Red Bluff, Calif., had been in jail since Medford police arrested him on Aug. 28. A fugitive from California, Leyva was wanted in Placer County on a charge of assaulting his wife with a deadly weapon and was fighting extradition, said Christopher Cattran, a deputy district attorney in Placer County. "He was a three-striker," Cattran said. "I don’t think he wanted to do 25 years to life in prison." If Leyva had been convicted of the assault charge, he would have served a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison under California’s "three strikes" law, Cattran said. Corrections deputies making their hourly checks on the jail’s inmates found Leyva dead in his locked cell around 2:05 a.m. He was last seen alive when deputies checked on him at 1 a.m., according to jail records. Suspended above the cell’s toilet with his feet on the floor, Leyva had tied the sheet around his neck and looped it through a metal grate covering an air vent located about 10 feet up the wall, said sheriff’s Detective Dan Hobbs. Leyva most likely stood on his toilet to hang the sheet, Hobbs added. There was no one else housed in Leyva’s cell. Several letters were stuffed into the waistband of Leyva’s pants, including a letter of apology to his mother, Hobbs said. Deputies’ efforts to resuscitate Leyva, which included attaching a defibrillator to his chest, were unsuccessful, deputies said. Medford Fire Department and Mercy Flights responded to the jail, pronouncing Leyva dead around 2:28 a.m., deputies said. Leyva had not shown any tendency toward committing suicide, said sheriff’s Capt. Ed Mayer. "If there had been any signs exhibited to us of a possible suicide, he would have been put on a suicide watch," Mayer said. Deputies check on suicidal inmates at least every 15 minutes, Mayer said. He estimated the jail’s last suicide happened about 15 years ago. At least two suicide attempts have been reported at the jail since 1994. In 1995, David Ray Franklin, 30, apparently tried to hang himself by tying bedding around his neck. In 1994, 51-year-old Richard Doyle Baker of Central Point jumped 15 feet from a suspended walkway within the jail. It appeared Thursday that deputies followed the department’s policies and procedures relating to checking on inmates and responding to a death inside the jail, Mayer said. However, administrators will review deputies’ actions, he said. "It looks like a real tragedy ... an individual who was so distraught that he took his own life," Mayer said. An autopsy was performed Thursday afternoon. To prevent a conflict of interest within the sheriff’s department — which operates the jail — Oregon State Police took charge of the case. Detectives from the sheriff’s department and Medford Police Department were assisting in the investigation. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times