Tulsa County jail inmate found dead in his cell

27 year old Michael Jones was found dead in his Tulsa County jail cell Thursday night. He'd been arrested less than 24 hours before for violating a protective order. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter

Friday, May 14th 2004, 5:10 pm

By: News On 6

27 year old Michael Jones was found dead in his Tulsa County jail cell Thursday night. He'd been arrested less than 24 hours before for violating a protective order.

News on 6 reporter Lori Fullbright got a copy of the protective order, his own mother had filed it against him. It says he locked her in his apartment, pushed her and bruised her arms while looking for Lortabs, which are highly addictive pain killers.

It says he forced his way into her home six days later and chased her until police arrived. The Tulsa County jail says Jones had not threatened suicide, so he was not on suicide watch, however, he was in a cell in the medical unit, police reports say they were watching for seizures.

Chris Howard, CCA: "he was being housed in the medial unit because he was not suitable for general population. He was in the medical unit on his previous stay at the jail."

Tulsa Police say Jones was found with a plastic trash bag over his head, they believe he used it to smother himself. The jail says it had 16 suicide attempts last year.