Hanged Inmate was Accused of Attempted Murder

A Vacaville man who was found dead in his Solano County Jail cell early Tuesday morning was in custody for attempted murder and other violent offenses, a county sheriff’s deputy said this morning.

Douglas Tuttle, 58, was arrested and booked in the jail Nov. 23 after an incident in the unincorporated Vacaville area, sheriff’s Deputy Daryl Snedeker said.

Tuttle was booked for terrorist threats, false imprisonment and assault with a firearm in addition to the attempted murder charge, Snedeker said. He was being held under $750,000 bail and his preliminary hearing was tentatively set for Tuesday.

Tuttle was found hanging from a bed sheet at 1:06 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. He was last seen alive in his bunk at 12:09 a.m., Snedeker said.

The Solano County sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices are investigating the death.

Tuttle’s autopsy will be conducted in Sacramento County, Snedeker said. He said he recalls one other Solano County Jail death this year.

“Unfortunately these things happen. We take precautions but we can’t watch every inmate all the time,” Snedeker said. “I don’t think any jail policy will be changed immediately. That’s why we do the investigation,” he said. “We’ll look at it from the start, when he entered the jail and what took place. If anything in that process shows a need for improvement, it will take place. We always try to better ourselves,” Snedeker said.

--Bay City News