Walnut Creek Man Dead Of Apparent Suicide In Jail Was Facing Robbery Charges

An inmate who was found dead in an apparent suicide at a Martinez jail on Saturday was facing robbery charges, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies found the man, identified by the Contra Costa County coroner’s office today as 38-year-old Walnut Creek resident Keith Ashley Chapman, hanging from a bed sheet in his cell, sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee said.

Chapman was originally booked in the Martinez Detention Facility, located at 1000 Ward St., on Nov. 11, 2014, Lee said.

In addition to the robbery charge, Lee said authorities were holding Chapman for violating his parole and for possessing a weapon at the jail. A sheriff’s deputy conducting room checks found Chapman around 4:30 p.m. Jail medical staff responded to the room and began performing CPR, Lee said. The fire department and an ambulance also responded but Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The case is being investigated by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the sheriff’s office. Lee said an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

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--Bay City News