Lyon County sheriff orders audit, personnel changes after third suicide at jail since 2013
Submitted by editor on Thu, 06/25/2015 - 3:58pm
A suicide at the Lyon County Jail in Yerington on Wednesday, the third at the facility since 2013, has prompted Sheriff Al McNeil to make immediate changes, including round-the-clock personnel at the jail's control tower and an audit of detention policies.
At approximately 6:10 p.m., Wednesday, inmate Dylan Wanderer of Yerington was found unconscious and not breathing due to a possible suicide, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wanderer was arrested on June 23 on charges of burglary and destruction of another's property with bail set at $35,000. Wanderer had a previous arrest on a failure to appear drug court warrant on June 15 and was released on June 22.
Sheriff McNeil sends the condolences of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office to Wanderer’s family, and ordered immediate actions to detour this situation from occurring in the future. Since the current detention facility opened in January 2013 there has been three suicides and three attempts that were stopped by jail staff.
“I will not kick this can down the road,” Sheriff McNeil said in a news statement. “I, as the Lyon County Sheriff, assume all responsibilities for this detention facility and its operations. Collectively, we, the leadership of this county are committed to finding reasonable solutions as it relates to inmate safety and mental health concerns.”
McNeil ordered the control room tower that overlooks each of the cell bays to be manned around the clock. Due to manpower shortages because of the struggling economy, this tower has not been in operation, with security oversight coming out of the central control room. The personnel to operate the tower will come from patrol and investigation deputies in an overtime status.
McNeil has asked the Nevada Division of Investigations to conduct the investigation into Wanderer’s death. He also spoke with Washoe County Sheriff Chuck Allen who agreed for the Washoe sheriff's department to provide a team to do an audit and review of detention policies and procedures.
In addition, Sletten, the original building contractor has been called back to retrofit the cells with measures to increase inmate safety. This process will begin on Monday, June 29.
“Transparency is one of the cornerstone philosophies of my administration. We must identify the problem, or problems, and make corrections accordingly. And I am not talking about quick fixes, but long-term solutions,” Sheriff McNeil said.
