Walton, GA: Inmate commits suicide in Walton jail

By Robbie Schwartz
The Walton Tribune
Published August 15, 2010

Ronnie Dwayne Montgomery was found dead Wednesday night in his cell at the Walton County Jail after an apparent suicide where he hanged himself using a bedsheet.

“We certainly wish it had not happened, but when people are determined to do something like this, short of us having someone sitting with him 24 hours a day, there really was not much we could do,” Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said. “We had no prior indications he was having these kind of thoughts. It is an unfortunate incident and unfortunately, it won’t be the last one.”

Montgomery, 49, of Monroe, was in jail after being arrested for aggravated stalking on July 13 and aggravated stalking/domestic violence on July 27. He also had a temporary protective order placed against him by his wife, according to sheriff’s office records. Bond had been denied shortly after his most recent arrest and Montgomery had similar charges pending in Jackson County, according to Chapman.

Though the matter still remains under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who were called in to investigate after the body was discovered, WCSO officials indicated the inmate made a phone call which lasted for eight-and-a-half minutes, though they could not divulge any additional details about the call. About 7:12 p.m., a jailer checked on Montgomery and found him unconscious and not breathing.

Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful.

The Walton County jail has 376 beds but on Thursday had 433 inmates. There are 12 jailers per shift in the facility. Chapman said in addition to being understaffed, the “poorly designed” new portion of the jail makes it difficult to detect incidents like this in a more timely manner, with each of the past three successful suicides over the last five years having taken place in the new portion of the jail.

The Walton County sheriff has noted on several instances the need for a new jail or an addition to the current facility, potentially built as part of a future Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The current jail was built using 2002 SPLOST monies.