By STEPHANIE RICE
The Vancouver Columbian
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Clark County Jail inmate accused of taking a cellmate hostage made his first appearance Wednesday in Superior Court.
Michael A. Jacobson, 20, faces new charges of holding a person hostage in a correctional facility, possession of a weapon in a correctional facility and second-degree assault.
Arraignment was set for Oct. 16.
Judge John Wulle appointed Clark Fridley to represent Jacobson, who was wearing what officers call a �suicide smock,� because the tear-resistant fabric is meant to prevent an inmate from ripping up his clothing to fashion a noose.
Jacobson had been in jail on a charge of rape of a child in the second-degree, to which he pleaded guilty last month. Sentencing in that case is set for Nov. 25, and he faces a minimum of 8 years in jail.
On Monday evening, he allegedly held a cellmate hostage by tying his hands together with a ripped bedsheet and holding sharpened plastic to his throat.
SWAT officers tossed a flash-bang distraction device into the cell about an hour later, then rushed in and rescued cellmate Kenny Madarash, 21.
Madarash�s arm had several scratches, but there were no other reported injuries.
Jacobson, who was uninjured, will be housed alone for the rest of his stay in the jail.
He has a prior conviction in Idaho for trying to stab a jail guard.
Copyright 2008 The Columbian Publishing Co.