Pubdate: Thu, 18 Aug 2005
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2005 Roanoke Times
Contact:  http://www.roanoke.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Note: First priority is to those letter-writers who live in circulation area.
Author: Lindsey Nair, The Roanoke Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

PULASKI MAN CUTS HIS WRISTS IN COURT

Two Courtroom Security Officers Clamped The Wounds And Acted As Human 
Tourniquets

A Pulaski man slashed his wrists in a federal courtroom in Roanoke on 
Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to drug charges, and officials say 
the blade he used was so small it could not be detected in a pat-down search.

John Timothy Underwood, 38, had just pleaded guilty to conspiracy to 
distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine plus two counts of 
carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime when he 
nonchalantly reached into the front pocket of his jail uniform and made a 
rubbing motion at each of his wrists, said supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal 
Ron Donelson.

Two courtroom security officers almost immediately noticed the blood, 
witnesses said.

"They performed very well. They stepped right up and clamped the wounds and 
acted as human tourniquets," said attorney Roger Hagan, who represents one 
of Underwood's co-defendants in the case.

Underwood was taken by medics to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where 
he was treated and released. He was placed on suicide watch at the Roanoke 
City Jail later Wednesday, Donelson said.

Heidi Coy, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Roanoke, said 
Underwood is facing 35 years in prison in connection with his plea deal.

"It is regretful that Mr. Underwood harmed himself," she said, "and we 
commend the quick actions of the U.S. Marshals and the courthouse staff."

Underwood, who came to court wearing a knee brace and walking with 
crutches, was sitting before U.S. District Judge Samuel Wilson when he cut 
himself. His co-defendants, Joshua Roop, 20, and Stephanie Lane, 50, had 
also just pleaded guilty to methamphetamine distribution charges.

Donelson said the blade that Underwood used appeared to be extracted from 
the kind of disposable razor issued to inmates at Roanoke City Jail, where 
Underwood was housed. It was about one-eighth of an inch wide and one inch 
long, not as big as a standard razor blade.

"They are security razors designed for institutional use," said Roanoke 
City Sheriff's Maj. Jim Brubaker, "and the blade in it is very, very tiny. 
It is very sharp for shaving purposes, but if you bust the plastic frame 
from around it, it is not the typical size."

Following standard procedure, jail personnel patted down Underwood once 
before he was turned over to the U.S. Marshal's Service for transportation 
to the hearing, Brubaker said. Then, the marshals conducted a second 
pat-down when he came into their custody.

Donelson and Brubaker said they don't use metal detectors to search 
inmates, and Brubaker added that pat-down searches are far more effective. 
They both said they doubted that the blade Underwood carried would have set 
off a metal detector.

"There is certainly more metal in a bracelet or even a pair of earrings 
than there is in one of those blades," Brubaker said, noting that jewelry 
and belt buckles often do not set off metal detectors.

Brubaker said that deputies are trained to pat down pockets rather than 
sticking their hands inside them and risking injury. But he said that he 
plans to notify all deputies of Wednesday's incident and instruct them to 
carefully check inside pockets once they've patted down and restrained the 
inmate.

Hagan and Underwood's attorney, Richard Derrico, said they had never heard 
of an incident like that in their combined 39 years in practice. Donelson 
said it is not a frequent occurrence in the country.

"There is no real way to ensure that something that small does not get 
overlooked," Donelson said, later adding: "That's not to make excuses. 
Stuff like this should have been found."
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MAP posted-by: Beth