Inmate Apparently Hangs Himself in Cell

An inmate at the Fullerton City Jail was found dead Saturday inside his cell, the victim of an apparent suicide, police said.

The Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating the death of 30-year-old Michael Mata, who had been jailed the day before on a felony charge of spousal abuse.

Mata was being held without bail because he also was wanted on a parole violation stemming from a burglary conviction.

According to a police statement, Placentia police officers found Mata asleep in his car in Tri City Park on Friday morning. Running records checks, they discovered that Mata was being sought in connection with the Wednesday assault on his companion and for the parole violation.

He was turned over to Fullerton police, who placed him in a jail cell at 9 a.m. Friday. Police said they had no indication that he was suicidal.

A jailer made hourly rounds through the night, logging conditions as normal at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, police said. But a jailer checking at 8:30 a.m. found Mata kneeling and slumped over on the floor of the cell, with one arm of his sweatshirt tied around his neck and the other around bars on the jail door.

A jailer struggled to untie the sweatshirt and attempted to resuscitate Mata while another officer called paramedics. Mata was pronounced dead at 8:49 a.m.