Merced inmate dies after apparent suicide, authorities report

A Merced County jail inmate died Monday after apparently hanging himself in his cell with a sweatshirt, the Merced County Sheriff’s Department confirmed.

Richard Michael Ramirez, 27, was found at 6:08 p.m. Monday in his jail cell at the John Latorraca Correctional Facility on Sandy Mush Road. Ramirez was taken by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center Merced, where he was pronounced dead at 7:11 p.m., Sgt. Delray Shelton said.

Jail workers found Ramirez hanging in his cell during a routine check. The death remained under investigation Tuesday, Shelton said.

Ramirez had been waiting for more than two months to be transferred to Napa State Hospital for mental health treatment at the time of his death, according to Merced County court records and attorneys involved in his case.

Los Banos police arrested Ramirez on Aug. 23, a day after investigators said he attacked two men with a straight-razor blade, slashing one of the victims in the throat and stabbing him numerous times. The attack happened outside a barber shop in the 800 block of Second Street in Los Banos, police reported.

Both men survived. The motive for the attack remains unclear, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Criminal proceedings against Ramirez were suspended by Judge Harry Jacobs on Sept. 26 after Ramirez’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Derek Meyer, raised doubts regarding his client’s mental competency. The judge declared Ramirez unfit to stand trial Oct. 17 after an evaluation, Merced County Public Defender David Elgin confirmed.

Katie Gates, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, also confirmed that the judge’s order to transfer Ramirez to Napa State Hospital came more than two months ago.

A dozen or more Merced County inmates can be on the transfer list for weeks or months at a time. The exact number of Merced County inmates on the waiting list now was not available Tuesday. It was also unclear when the last suicide at the jail occurred.

Shelton said delays for inmates ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment at state-run hospitals have become more common. Shelton said the issues that slowed the transfer of Ramirez, available bed space and paperwork processing, are typical reasons for such delays.

“A lot depends on the case, but it can sometimes take a few weeks and other times in other cases it can take more than six months,” Shelton said.

This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Merced inmate dies after apparent suicide, authorities report."