Man Accused of Threats Hangs Himself in Jail

A 39-year-old Newbury Park man hanged himself in his jail cell four days after his arrest on suspicion of sending threatening letters to five county employees, officials said Monday.

Cory Thompson was found hanging by a bedsheet at the Main Jail in Ventura about 11 p.m. Sunday, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Eric Nishimoto.

After attempts to revive him, Thompson was pronounced dead about 11:30 p.m.

Thompson was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sending threatening letters containing a white powder to the county’s sheriff and district attorney, the district attorney’s office and two sheriff’s employees in August.

The letters, which were anonymous, said the powder would harm the recipients. The powder later was analyzed and found to be nontoxic. Thompson was arrested after a four-month investigation, Nishimoto said.

Nishimoto said Thompson was observed during his first 72 hours in jail, as is the case for all new inmates, and “there was not even the slightest hint of suicidal tendencies. If there was, we would have put him under much tighter restrictions.”

Thompson had no problems when he spent time in jail earlier this year, Nishimoto said. In May, he was sentenced to 120 days after pleading guilty to brandishing a firearm. Charges of discharging a firearm and possessing a deadly weapon were dismissed at that time.