AKRON, Ohio - An Akron police officer was disciplined for failing to properly search a 17-year-old boy who fatally shot himself while in police custody.

Officer Devin Ray failed to thoroughly search Xavier McMullen before he put the boy in the back of a patrol car during an Aug. 25 arrest, according to a disciplinary letter signed by Akron police Chief Kenneth Ball and Capt. Steven Swartz.

Xavier shot himself in the head while sitting in the patrol car, the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office determined. Investigators found a .45-caliber gun near the boy in the back seat, police said.

Xavier's hands were cuffed behind his back when the shooting occurred, police said.

Ray was docked 24 hours of pay for violating the police department's transportation and prisoner control procedure, according to the disciplinary letter.

Six police officers took Xavier and two 18-year-old boys into custody while investigating an armed robbery on 10th Street SW, police said.

A man and woman told investigators they were sitting in a van when three robbers approached them. One of the robbers showed a gun and demanded money, police said.

Officers learned the suspects ran away to a house on 7th Street SW near Kenmore Boulevard. Xavier and two 18-year-old men were arrested at the house, police said.

The officers placed the three suspects in separate police cruisers while they continued to interview witnesses. One of the officers returned to his police cruiser a short time later and found Xavier dead, police said.

The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Xavier's death a suicide.

None of the six police officers who were at the scene were placed on administrative leave after Xavier's death, police said.

The other two men arrested in connection with the robbery later pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in the case, Summit County court records show.

Mathew W. Allen, 19, and Anthony W. Criss, 18, were each sentenced to two years of probation when they pleaded guilty Dec. 13, court records say.

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