Man found unresponsive in Wood County Jail believed to have committed suicide

Published 5:42 pm Wednesday, August 10, 2016

1. Wood County Jail inmate dies after being found unresponsive

A man who was found unresponsive in the Wood County Jail Thursday and who later died from his injuries is believed to have committed suicide, according to internal investigations by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers.

Robert Sharp, 69, of Holly Lake Ranch, died at East Texas Medical Center at 10:15 p.m. Thursday.

Sharp was being housed in a separation medical cell and was being checked every 30 minutes by the detention officer on floor duty, according to a news release by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

After the floor officer made the check at 3:23 p.m., the release states Sharp attempted to take his on life by hanging himself in the shower using material torn from his jail uniform. The inmate was discovered unresponsive 20 minutes later by detention officers.

Officials did CPR, and the inmate was taken to an ETMC emergency room in Quitman by EMS and was subsequently flown to ETMC Tyler, where he died. 

Sharp had been detained since July 25 on a charge of assault family violence.

Wood County Sheriff Jim Brown said in the news release there was never an indication that Sharp was suicidal or intended to harm himself.    

– Augusta Robinson