A 25-year-old man in custody at the Leon County jail died in his cell late Wednesday night.
"All indications are that this was self-inflicted, but I don’t want to speak too much about it," said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. "I'm going to let the medical examiner do his or her job."
Police say Germaine Lane was found unresponsive in his cell shortly before midnight, about 20 minutes after he had spoken with a correctional officer. That same officer discovered him in his cell and performed life-saving measures on him. Lane was then taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The county medical examiner’s office is conducting an autopsy to determine cause of death.
McNeil says suicide isn't uncommon among the jail's inmates, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began a few years ago.
“With all the mental issues that have taken place in our community, we have about forty-five percent of our population of persons suffering mental health issues," McNeil said. "Since COVID, we've had about three suicides that have taken place in our detention facility."
Lane had been incarcerated at the jail since July of 2021. His family have been notified of his death.
McNeil says the sheriff's office has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to help with the investigation. Officers will also look at Lane's mental health records.
The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988.
