THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040324
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 28 lines
A 26-year-old prisoner hanged himself Sunday night in the Virginia Beach city jail while being held in a camera-equipped cell.
Leon Graves was found dead in the cell shortly after 9 p.m., said Lt. Linda Jacocks, public information officer for the jail.
Graves was being held by Virginia Beach as a courtesy to the city of Hampton, where Graves had been convicted of numerous robbery and felony drug charges.
He had been sentenced to serve 15 years, Jacocks said, and was eventually going to be transferred to a state corrections facility.
Graves apparently was able to cover the lens of the camera with a substance to block the view of the guards before hanging himself. Jacocks could not say how long it took the jail guards to realize that they could no longer see Graves.
Jacocks said an investigation into the suicide is being conducted by the Virginia Beach police. by CNB