Pulaski County sheriff's deputies are investigating the possible suicide of an inmate who was found in an intake unit without a pulse early Saturday, a day after his 50th birthday.
Tony Edward Walker of North Little Rock was booked into jail early Saturday morning on a failure to appear charge out of North Little Rock District Court. His bail had been set at $640.
Walker was on supervised probation related to 2013 convictions for public intoxication and possession of methamphetamine and cocaine, according to circuit court records. Information on why Walker was scheduled to appear in North Little Rock District Court was unavailable Saturday.
Deputy Franklin Snodgrass was serving food trays in the intake unit, where inmates are first processed into the jail before being assigned to a unit based on their charges and behavior, and asked Walker if he'd like a tray, Snodgrass said in a report.
Walker was unresponsive, prompting Snodgrass to touch his wrist and search for a pulse. He did not detect one.
Snodgrass called a Code Red at 5:37 a.m., and Walker was tended to by nurses and other officers, who also could not detect a pulse.
One deputy "noticed and removed a bandage from around the neck of inmate Walker," the report said.
Sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Chris Ameling said the bandage was a thick wrap, similar to an Ace bandage, that was wound too tightly around Walker's neck.
"Unless he had some kind of medical condition, we imagine the bandage was the cause of death," Ameling said.
Pulaski County Coroner Matt Miller assessed and photographed Walker's body. The cause of death is still under investigation.
Ameling said Walker was alone in the intake cell.
Walker's death would be the jail's first suicide in 2015. It had none in 2014 and three in 2013.
Metro on 04/19/2015