A 37-year-old inmate used food to suffocate himself about nine hours after he was booked into jail early last month, becoming the fourth inmate to die by suicide in a San Diego County jail this year, sheriff’s officials said Monday.

Deputies conducting a security check found Manuel Cruz unresponsive in his cell around 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the downtown San Diego Central Jail, sheriff’s Lt. Rich Williams said.

Jail deputies and medical staff provided emergency aid until paramedics arrived, Williams said. Their attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

Cruz was booked into the jail a few minutes before 7 a.m. on Oct. 2, the same day he died, Williams said in an email. He was arrested on a warrant for driving under the influence and wasn’t expected to be in custody much more than 24 hours.


“He was due to court on (Oct. 3) and expected to be released on (the) same day,” Williams said.

Cruz was being held alone in a secure cell in the Central Jail’s enhanced observation housing — which has individual cells, more frequent cell checks, nurse visits and video surveillance — because he was known to potentially be suicidal, Williams said.

Personnel from the county Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy the day after Cruz’s death and determined he died by suicide by asphyxiating on food, according to Williams, the lieutenant of the sheriff’s homicide unit, which investigates all in-custody deaths.

San Diego County jails have seen more than 120 deaths since 2007, including dozens of suicides. After a City Beat investigation determined the average mortality rate in local jails over six years was the highest among California’s 10 largest lockups, the department put new measures in place to better identify and monitor suicidal inmates.


Last year there was one inmate suicide, but Cruz’s was the fourth since March 28, when 61-year-old Michael Patrick Sullivan killed himself.

Jon Nelson, 52, killed himself on May 24 and Frederick Jefferson, 39, killed himself on Sept. 1, less than a day after he was sentenced to seven years in prison for punching a police officer in February near dueling rallies at Chicano Park.


Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

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alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:


9:25 p.m.: This article was updated with information about Cruz’s arrest, detention and other details.

This article was originally published at 4 p.m.