Deputies: Pasco Man Committed Suicide in Hernando Jail

The death of a 26-year-old Pasco County man is under investigation in Hernando County.

According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Justin Michael Simonds committed suicide while serving as an inmate in the county’s detention center. The incident is said to have occurred Tuesday around 7:10 p.m.

Jail staff called in Hernando County Fire Rescue personnel and performed CPR on Simonds, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at a local hospital, an email to media from the sheriff’s office stated. The sheriff’s office did not say how Simonds died.

An investigation into the death is being launched.

Simonds, of Lacoochee, was booked into the jail Nov. 28 on a host of charges, including possession of methamphetamines with the intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, grand theft auto and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, according to jail records.

Photo credit: Justin Michael Simonds/Hernando County Sheriff’s Office

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