A man died by suspected suicide in 疯客直播 Fe County jail Thursday morning.
George Matthew Montoya, 50, was found unresponsive in his jail cell at 11:22 a.m. after a 鈥渟elf-harm incident,鈥 county spokeswoman Olivia Romo wrote in an email.
The circumstances of Montoya鈥檚 death were not clear as of Friday. Romo declined to provide further details about the incident or answer questions about whether jail staff followed protocols for suicide prevention regarding Montoya.
疯客直播 Fe County jail鈥檚 policies and procedures require staff to receive training to recognize potentially suicidal inmates and to refer them for a behavioral health assessment and potential close supervision. Inmates who have committed self-harm or who are believed to be actively suicidal are to be placed on constant watch, while those who have a prior history of self-harm or who have expressed suicide ideation are to be placed on a 15-minute behavioral health watch, according to the jail鈥檚 suicide prevention policy.
Montoya鈥檚 death marks the second in-custody death in 疯客直播 Fe County jail in 2024, following the suspected overdose death of 37-year-old Dominique Livingston-Esquibel in March.
Suicide attempts by inmates have increased in recent years at the jail, according to numbers provided by 疯客直播 Fe County. There were 20 attempts in 2023, compared to seven in 2022 and nine in 2021.
Montoya was arrested Sept. 7 by 疯客直播 Fe police and booked into 疯客直播 Fe County jail. Police accused him of being responsible for a string of burglaries and credit card thefts in the city over the summer.
The agency announced in a news release officers arrested Montoya after he was suspected of stealing someone鈥檚 wallet at Trader Joe鈥檚 on Cordova Road. Police said they linked him to a string of other thefts in recent months and charged him with 13 counts of residential burglary, four counts of credit card theft and three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.
Montoya did not receive a medical clearance before being booked at the jail, said police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez, because 鈥渘o use of force occurred and there was no complaint of injury.鈥
Montoya was arraigned Sept. 9 and ordered to be released from jail on pretrial supervision, but he was kept in the jail on multiple other outstanding warrants issued in recent months, including charges of identity theft in Sandoval County and credit card theft in 疯客直播 Fe.