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28-Year-Old Dies After Suicide Attempt At Hillsborough Jail

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TBO.com

Published: September 5, 2008

Updated: 09/05/2008 04:02 pm

TAMPA - TAMPA - A 28-year-old man who tried to hang himself with a bedsheet at Falkenburg Road Jail this week has died, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Raphael Lopez was scheduled for trial on October 6 for felony burglary and misdemeanor criminal mischief, online court records show.

Tampa General Hospital notified the sheriff's office today that Lopez had died, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. Lopez had been in critical condition at the hospital since Monday evening when a detention deputy found him hanging by a bedsheet attached to a doorjamb.

Carter said Lopez had been held in administrative confinement at the jail, meaning he was in a single cell in an area of 16 cells. He was not under any special watch or restrictions. "There was no problem with him being in a cell," Carter said.

According to online court records, Tampa police arrested Lopez on the burglary and criminal mischief charges in February 2007. In May of that year, he was found incompetent to stand trial and committed to a state hospital, records show.

In March, the case was reopened and Lopez was re-evaluated, online court records show. He was deemed competent to proceed May 5.

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