SAN JOSE, Calif. - An inmate serving a sentence for murder and robbery killed himself in the Santa Clara County Main Jail, the second suicide this year in the jail.
A guard passed by the cell of Rick Pham, 29, early Saturday morning and saw him lying on his bed. The same guard passed by less than 10 minutes later for another check and found Pham hanging by a knotted bedsheet at his bedside, according to the county Department of Correction.
The officer cut the sheet and began emergency treatment until paramedics took over a short time later. Pham never regained consciousness, according to the department, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was serving 27 years to life and was housed in a single-man cell.
Pham had requested a new trial on Sept. 1 and the decision was expected to be made on Oct. 20.
An autopsy is pending, and the Department of Correction is conducting an internal investigation, while the Sheriff's Office is conducting an external investigation.
The first suicide happened Aug. 6 when Daniel Ramos, 19, was found hanging from the bed frame in his cell.