Man Held in Stand-Off Found Dead in Jail Cell

A 39-year-old Ventura man who was arrested last week after barricading himself in his house for hours hanged himself in his Ventura County Jail cell, authorities said Saturday.

Sheriff’s deputies found Mark Gregory Conroy unconscious in his cell at 7:55 p.m. Friday.

He was taken to Ventura County Medical Center and pronounced dead about one hour later.

Senior Deputy Coroner Mitch Breese said Conroy died as the result of hanging himself.

Sheriff’s Capt. Ken Warren said deputies checked on Conroy about 6:55 p.m., an hour before he was discovered hanging by a bed sheet tied to the rail of the top bunk in his cell.

Deputies performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Conroy while they waited for paramedics, but they were unable to revive him.

Tuesday night, Conroy fired a shotgun at his wife as she sat in her car in front of their house in the 3800 block of Channel Drive, officials said.

He then barricaded himself inside the house, holding Ventura Police SWAT officers at bay for six hours before surrendering at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Conroy, who was being held on $20,000 bail, was arraigned Friday on one count of spousal abuse and assault with a firearm.

Conroy’s wife, Donna, said Saturday that she believes the incident last week was spurred by her husband’s drinking, as well as his recent loss of a job.

“Things weren’t going well in his life. I think he may have just got tired of it and snapped,” Conroy said.

The couple kept eight rifles and three handguns in the house, Conroy said.

She said she was not surprised by her husband’s actions.

“This is the way he wanted to go,” she said. “He said the world was just too crazy.”