By Cary Ashby
Norwalk Reflector
NORWALK, Ohio — A Huron County Jail inmate will require more surgeries after he jumped from the upper stairs in a pod this weekend.
Daniel M. Legg, 23, of 20 Mill St., was serving a 100-day term for criminal damaging and assault.
The jumping incident happened just after 9 p.m. Friday at evening lockdown when inmates are confined to their cells for the night. Maj. Mike Cooksey, the jail administrator, said corrections officers had moved onto another pod just before Legg went up the stairs to the second floor and jumped from an area where there isn’t any fencing.
“He apparently hadn’t shut his door the whole away. He ran out, ran up the stairs and jumped,” Cooksey said. “He climbed up the handrail.”
North Central EMS first transported Legg to Fisher-Titus Medical Center. A LifeFlight helicopter then flew him to the University of Toledo Medical Center in Toledo. A hospital spokeswoman declined to provide Legg’s patient status Sunday.
“He had surgery (Saturday) on his one foot. He’s going to have to have multiple surgeries,” Cooksey said.
“Apparently, he had just broken up with his girlfriend. We haven’t found anything right now to say it was a suicide attempt. He was distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend,” Cooksey said.
Jail staff are in the middle of an ongoing investigation.
“We haven’t finished it yet,” Cooksey said.
Officers have interviewed inmates in the pod where Legg was, he said, but they still have to see if Legg made any calls or “made any statements to anyone.”
“That hopefully will be finished (Sunday),” Cooksey added.
According to Norwalk Municipal Court and jail records, Legg originally was charged with criminal damaging and three counts of assault in connection with an Aug. 21 incident investigated by the Norwalk Police Department.
Authorities decided Legg would be released from custody once he’s released from the hospital, but must return to the jail at some point to serve the remaining 34 days on his sentence, according to jail records.
Cooksey said Judge Eric Weisenburger agreed with the decision to have Legg released and “come back to see him and serve the rest of his time.”
“He (Legg) was sentenced on his charges,” said Cooksey, who noted Legg originally was to be released Nov. 29.
Legg’s next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25.
This isn’t the first time an inmate has jumped from the mezzanine level in the pods.
Former inmate Joshua M. Aumend sustained injuries to his lower extremities that didn’t appear to be lifethreatening after a mid-June 2008 incident. The incident happened at 11:47 a.m. after corrections officers had done their hourly checks.
There have been other incidents as well.
Soon after Sheriff Dane Howard took office in January 2009, Huron County commissioners used permanent improvement funds to have fencing installed in all the pods prevent other prisoners from jumping.
“We’re looking at a couple options to change,” Cooksey said. “Putting up more fencing is all we can do. … It’s in the thousands of dollars to do.”
Cooksey said the sheriff’s office can make the decision without conferring with the county commissioners because the money can come out of the budget of the sheriff’s office.
Until the fencing issue is resolved, the jail has implemented a new policy which requires inmates to stay in their cells unless two corrections officers are in the pod.
“We changed the policy. We are now under direct supervision,” Cooksey said.
The jail administrator plans to meet with Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler about the jumping situation.
“I’m going to meet with Russ to see if there’s anything we can do on our end,” Cooksey said.