Man hangs himself in county jail

Independent staff

GALLUP — The McKinley County Adult Detention Center saw its first suicide of the year on Saturday.

Sheriff officials said Monday that Frank Dempsey Jr., 50, of Sheep Springs hung himself in his cell about 4:00 a.m. Saturday. He was not on a suicide watch.

Kerry McDonald, a corrections officer at the jail, told police that Dempsey appeared fine when he made his rounds at 3:30 a.m. but a half hour later, he observed Dempsey hanging from a sheet that he had lopped around the top bunk.

He said that Dempsey, who was in jail on his fifth DWI charge, had made no threats of suicide and had never attempted suicide before this incident.

Dempsey had been booked into the jail on April 7 and had less than four weeks to serve on his sentence.