Man hangs himself after 3 months in immigration custody

VICTORVILLE, Calif. – Authorities say a Nicaraguan man hanged himself in his cell after spending about three months in custody at a Southern California immigrant detention facility.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 32-year-old Osmar Epifanio Gonzalez-Gadba was taken to the hospital March 22 after he had hanged himself at a detention centre in Adelanto. He died six days later on Tuesday.

ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice told The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/2oke9JI ) Gonzalez-Gadba used a bedsheet tied around his neck to hang himself.

Gonzalez-Gadba was placed in immigration detention in December after he was arrested by border agents. He was deported to Nicaragua last April.

Kice says Nicaraguan consular representatives in Los Angeles told the agency they’ve been in contact with Gonzalez-Gadba’s family in Nicaragua.

Gonzalez-Gadba is the fifth detainee to die in immigration custody since October.