POINT OF THE MOUNTAIN — A Utah State Prison inmate died Saturday after jumping from a fixture in his cell.
Officers were preparing to enter the cell after seeing Ryan P. Allison, 22, repeatedly bang his head on the concrete floor at about 7:30 a.m. Allison then dove head first from the sink onto the floor and could not be revived, according to prison officials.
Allison, who pleaded guilty in September 2010 to charges of threat or use of a dangerous weapon in a fight, a class A misdemeanor, and making threats against a judge, a third-degree felony, was alone in a camera-equipped cell at the Olympus facility, which houses inmates who are mentally ill.
Though initially sentenced to the Utah State Hospital for treatment, prison officials said Allison's "disruptive behavior there" led him to the prison. In August, Allison was charged with and found guilty of assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony. He was expected to be discharged from prison May 24, 2015.
Unified Police will review Saturday's incident, as is standard procedure, and the state medical examiner will conduct an autopsy.
Allison's is the second death by alleged suicide at the state prison in the last six days.
— Wendy Leonard