CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN QUENTIN : Kidnap-Rapist Found Hanged

A Martinez man convicted of rape, kidnaping for rape and attempted murder hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin Prison after serving only five days of his 23-year sentence, officials said. Lyndon D. Dicks, 21, who was a gardener for a homeowners association in Orinda, was found dead in his cell on Sunday, hanging from a noose made of sheets, a prison spokesman said. No note was found in the cell, the spokesman said. Dicks was sentenced Oct. 25 for the rape and attempted murder of an Orinda woman at her townhouse complex. “It was just horrifying,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dara Lawver, who prosecuted the case. “It was so cold and calm and callous.”