Crime & Safety
County Jail Inmate's Death Ruled Suicide
Man who died at Martinez Detention Facility was Joseph Behiel, 21, of Pleasanton, who was arrested last week on weapons charges.
Authorities have released the identity of a jail inmate who attempted suicide Thursday and died the next day.
The man is Joseph Behiel, 21, of Pleasanton, who was arrested by San Ramon police Wednesday for weapons charges, resisting arrest and a probation violation, according to a Contra Costa Sheriff's Office news release. He was pronounced deceased at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez on Friday.
Behiel was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility at about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday. At about 2:54 p.m. Thursday, a deputy found him unresponsive in the intake area of the facility and emergency medical care was called, police reported. Medical staff at the jail began life-saving measures.
A Monday autopsy stated the cause of death as asphyxia and the manner of death suicide, according to the release.
The sheriff's office and the district attorney's office are investigating this in-custody death per the county officer-involved fatal incident protocol.
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