Vista

An inmate at the County Jail in Vista died at Tri-City Medical Center after hanging himself with a telephone cord in a holding cell at the jail, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Armando Ramirez Rabago, 28, of Vista was found unconscious about 11 p.m. Tuesday by deputies who were conducting a nightly count of all inmates, said Lt. E. J. Lubic of the Vista jail. Deputies performed CPR with no response, and Rabago was taken by ambulance to the Oceanside hospital. He died Wednesday morning.

Rabago, who was unemployed, was arrested in Vista Monday night in connection with a 1983 murder and was brought to the jail about 9:30 p.m., Lubic said. Deputies booked him but did not complete the classification process that would place him in more permanent housing in the jail, because other duties took precedence, he said.

On Tuesday, Rabago appeared in court for arraignment and was ordered to return to court Wednesday, Lubic said. When Rabago was brought back to the jail late Tuesday evening, he was placed in a holding cell and the classification process was reinitiated by a deputy.

The process was interrupted by deputies making their nightly count, Lubic said. Rabago was left alone for a short time in the concrete cell, one of several on the first floor equipped with a wall phone, Lubic said.

A coroner’s examination was planned.