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By BRIAN MALINA brianm@leader.net
Tuesday, March 04, 2003 Page: 5A
WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County Correctional Facility inmate, who could
have been deported later this month, killed himself Sunday night.
A prison guard found Ricardo Clarke Edmund, 23, hanging by a sheet in his
cell in the prison’s restricted unit at 7:50 p.m. Sunday night, Warden Gene
Fischi said.
Edmund, a native of Panama with a last known address of Baltimore, was
pronounced dead shortly before 9:28 p.m. at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital,
Fischi said.
The cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging, according to Luzerne
County Coroner Dr. George Hudock.
According to court papers, Edmund was scheduled to be released on March 17
after completing his minimum sentence.
Niki Edwards, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, said Edmund would have been turned over to immigration officials
after his release so a deportation hearing could be held. She said a felony
conviction of aggravated assault is a deportable offense.
Edmund was in the country legally and had been classified as a lawful
permanent resident, Edwards said.
Edmund had been jailed at the county prison since June 17 on a charge of
aggravated assault.
According to court papers:
Edmund pleaded guilty to assaulting a fellow student at the Keystone Job
Corps Center in Butler Township.
Several students told state police Edmund struck another student in the
head with a Master Lock inside a sock on Aug. 3, 2001. The student, Cory L.
Moore, suffered a broken jaw.
Several students said Edmund told them he was going “to get Moore” for
snitching on him.
Edmund was sentenced to nine to 18 months in prison, Fischi said.
According to court papers, Edmund was scheduled to be paroled immediately
after completing his minimum sentence.
Fischi said Edmund was placed in the prison’s restrictive unit on Feb. 21
for fighting.
Edmund had been in several fights since arriving at the prison, Fischi
said.
Despite Edmund’s problems, Fischi said, Edmund did not seem suicidal.
“He seemed to be happy-go-lucky. He even talked to one of the guards not
even a half hour before that. He wanted to get some of his records,” Fischi
said, adding that when the guard returned he found Edmund unconscious.
Brian Malina, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7196.