Investigators do not suspect foul play in the death of inmate Gerald Vaughn Holbrook at the Hancock County Jail.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A Greenfield man serving time for minor felony crimes was found dead in his cell in the county jail late Sunday, Jan. 23, officials with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department said.
The death of Gerald Vaughn Holbrook, 56, 400 block of Harding Avenue, Greenfield, is being investigated as a suicide. Jail officers found Holbrook unresponsive in his jail cell around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. He appeared to have used some of his own clothing to hang himself, said Capt. Robert Harris, public information officer for the sheriff’s department.
Investigators do not suspect foul play. The investigation is ongoing.
Holbrook was housed in a single cell, by himself, at the time of the incident, Harris said. Life-saving measures were taken and an ambulance was immediately called, but Holbrook was pronounced dead by medical personnel a short time after being found.
Jail staff had made their rounds checking on all inmates earlier in the day.
“We’ve checked and our people did their rounds just like they were supposed to but unfortunately we cannot watch the inmates 24 hours a day, every day of the week,” Harris said.
Jailers spotted nothing out of the ordinary when they made their rounds, Harris noted. Officials were not immediately able to say why Holbrook was in a cell by himself.
According to jail records, Holbrook was booked into the jail on June 15, 2021, on charges of violating terms of his home detention by removing his electronic monitoring device. He also was facing a charge of violating probation.
According to court records, he was originally serving time on home detention for a crime committed in April 2020. The court had accepted a plea agreement on a Level 6 felony charge of possession of a narcotic in April 2021. Holbrook was given a 730-day term, with 722 days suspended to probation.
Court records show that in September, 2021, three months after being arrested, Holbrook admitted to violating his probation and was therefore serving out the remainder of his term in the county jail.
Court records indicate Holbrook had several issues with police and the courts over the years, with 10 different criminal charges filed dating as far back as 2000.
An autopsy was being conducted late Monday.
