Officers stop inmate's suicide attempt

Article published Jun 18, 2007

Man tried to kill himself by shoving ink pen into his eye with a Bible.

BY MILLARD K. IVES
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - A Marion County Jail inmate tried to commit suicide Saturday evening by hammering an ink pen in to his left eye with a Bible.

Corrections officers shocked Lester Williams, 28, with a Taser stun gun, in an attempt to prevent him from further harming himself, allowing them to subdue the inmate.

Marion County Sheriff's officials said Williams' eye was not seriously injured. After being treated at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Williams was brought back to the jail, strapped down and placed on suicide watch.

Williams, of Riverview, has been in the jail since Dec. 5, 2003 on a number of charges, including sexual battery, false imprisonment, battery on an inmate, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Jail officials said Williams has spent some of his time behind bars at the Seminole County Jail . Williams also has outstanding cases in both Seminole and Alachua counties.

Sheriff's Capt. Fred Cyprian said it was not clear why Williams attempted suicide. Cyprian speculated that Williams had a court hearing canceled last week and could have been upset over that.

A Sheriff's Office incident report states a corrections officer, Jason Williams, was conducting a security check in the Alpha pod of the jail's E-section at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when he saw Lester Williams sitting on his cell bunk.

The officer called out the inmate's name but got no response.

The report adds the officer noticed Williams holding an ink pen in his right hand and a Bible in his left hand. Williams then shouted: "I told you that I would stick a pen through my eye into my brain," the report stated.

Before the officer could reach Williams, it appeared the inmate had driven the pen into his left eye with the Bible. Cyprian said officials later learned the pen hit more towards the top of the bridge of the nose than the eye itself.

The officer shot Williams with a Taser stun gun in the torso. The shock caused Williams to hit the floor. But during the incident, the inmate was still able to hit the pen one more time before officers could restrain him.

Last Thursday, inmate Vito Joseph Loiacono, 46, died after he apparently hanged himself from his bunk bed with his pants. Sheriff's officials said there were no signs that the death was anything other than a suicide.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the case.

Millard K. Ives may be reached at millard.ives@starbanner.com or (352) 387-2488.