Marion County Sheriff's Office finishes review of inmate who tried committing suicide at the jail in June
The Marion County Sheriff's Office has finished its review of an attempted suicide at the jail and determined that no laws were broken and no jail procedures violated.
Investigators said they found several handwritten notes inside inmate William JamesCharles Brooks' cell.
One note states: "I want to be buried not burned." Another asks that Ian Munsick's "Me Against The Mountain" be played at his funeral. A third said: "I just wanted to be happy and wanted IM sorry it was my fault."
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On the day he tried to kill himself, officials said, Brooks had received a final judgment for protection against domestic violence. That was June 27.
Brooks is a former jail detention deputy who resigned after his arrest on a charge of introducing contraband at the jail. The charge was late dropped.
He was booked into the facility on June 14, charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence by strangulation and aggravated battery on a pregnant victim.
The 30-year-old is accused of pointing a rifle at a woman who was asleep, threatening her with the firearm and then forcing the woman to dig a hole. "That is where you are going," he told her, according to his arrest report.
The victim said they argued and he choked her until she passed out.
What happened on the day of the suicide attempt
Shortly before 9 p.m. on June 27, Brooks tried to hang himself in his cell, located in A Pod, F section. Brooks was housed in a one-man cell in protective custody because he may have been in danger because of his previous job at the jail.
Detective Nathan McLain said in his report that he interviewed Detention Deputy Zachary Welch. Welch said he was doing a security check when he saw Brooks hanging from a light fixture.
The detention deputy said he notified officials over the radio and rushed into the cell, where he lifted up Brooks. He said fellow Detention Deputy Kristofer Valdez went for the "Knife of Life" and cut the ligature.
Welch and Valdez placed Brooks on the ground and performed CPR until the Heart of Florida medical staff arrived. Heart of Florida Health Center provides medical care for inmates.
Brooks was treated and then transported to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. Officials said there's no video of the inside of Brooks cell. The area where Brooks was housed is checked every 30 minutes. Brooks was checked within that time frame, according to the report.
Jail officials have focused on suicide prevention in recent years. In 2018 there were four suicides at the Marion County lockup.
Brooks was released from the hospital on June 30 and is in protective custody, law enforcement officials said. He has no bond. He's represented by Ian Pickens of Meldon Law in Gainesville. Brooks' crimcase is ongoing, according to court records.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Report on inmate who tried to commit suicide released
