PACOIMA : Rape Suspect Hangs Himself in Jail Cell

A 27-year-old man suspected of raping a 14-year-old girl hanged himself with his shoelaces Friday in a jail cell at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division Station, police said.

The Los Angeles man, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, was arrested at noon and held on suspicion of the rape, which occurred last year, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Gene Fretheim. The man was found dead in his cell about 3:05 p.m.

“The man had taken his shoelaces and tied them to the top corner bracket of the top bunk,” Fretheim said. “He was in the cell by himself.”

Detectives from the department’s robbery-homicide division and representatives of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office were also investigating the death, Fretheim said.

Inmates at the Foothill Jail are not required to take off their shoelaces when they are processed into custody, Fretheim said. “We do take their belts. It’s not a routine thing to take their shoelaces,” Fretheim said.