A prison inmate apparently hanged himself in his cell Monday afternoon, the Department of Corrections reported.
Department spokesman Dave Franchina said Cruz Lovato, 25, was found shortly after 3:45 p.m. Monday hanging from bed sheets. He was scheduled for parole in July.Lovato's cellmate told Corrections investigators that Lovato had been despondent because of marital difficulties, legal problems and deaths in his family, Franchina said.
Lovato was admitted to the prison for three counts of burglary and one count of theft on Dec. 18, 1985.
He was paroled in 1987 and readmitted about two years later for violations.
Franchina said officers last saw Lovato alive about noon, and his cellmate last saw him about 2 p.m. About 3:30 p.m., the roommate returned to the cell to find the door locked and a towel over the door's window.
He waited for 15 minutes before he asked officers to let him back in, which they did electronically. He found the man hanging.
When guards came to the room, they immediately began CPR. Paramedics responded shortly afterward. Lovato was pronounced dead about 4:30 p.m. The body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.