A 35-year-old St. Clair man was found dead in his Franklin County jail cell at 12 a.m. on Monday morning, Mar. 8.
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke reported Monday that a deputy was conducting a bed check at the county jail when he discovered inmate, Joseph Pena, suspended with a cloth around his neck that was tied to an air vent in his cell. Union Ambulance was called to the county jail, but were unable to find any signs of life in Pena.
Toelke stated that a suicide note was found on the body of Pena.
Pena was serving a one-year sentence on traffic-related charges. He was scheduled to be released in July and was housed in an area consisting of 12 individual cells.
“Inmates are allowed in and out of their cells during the day and locked down around midnight,” said Toelke. “Periodic checks are conducted of the cells at random times during the evening. Pena was discovered during one of those checks.”
According to Toelke, the suicide note indicated that Pena was depressed over circumstances in his life.