An Imperial man was found dead Wednesday night, June 29, in a cell at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, Sheriff Dave Marshak said.
Korey L. LeGrand, 32, was alone in a cell when a corrections officer found him dead at about 8 p.m., Marshak said.
He said evidence suggested LeGrand hanged himself in the cell.
Marshak said LeGrand was alone in the cell because he had been transferred there following his involvement in a disturbance with other inmates.
LeGrand had been in custody since June 22 for various felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from incidents in Jefferson and St. Louis counties.
On Wednesday, LeGrand appeared before Jefferson County Div. 12 Associate Circuit Judge Tony Manansala, who ordered that LeGrand remain in the jail on a $1,000 cash-only bond connected to the charges filed in Jefferson County, including resisting arrest and fourth-degree domestic assault, both class A misdemeanors, and second-degree property damage and first-degree trespassing, both class B misdemeanors, court records show.
The resisting arrest charge stemmed from a May 2021 incident, and the property damage and trespassing charges were tied to March 2021 incident, according to court documents.
Marshak said a jail psychiatric doctor had met with LeGrand after Wednesday’s court appearance, and the doctor said there was no indication he needed to be placed on “suicide watch.”
“The reality of a jail our size is that we have these types of incidents,” Marshak said. “We have a high-risk population where many of our inmates have alcohol or substance dependencies, personality disorders and many with mental health issues. The prospect of continued incarceration is a bleak outlook for some, so these incidents happen. Our jail medical contract includes a full-time mental health professional because we recognize the propensity for these types of events. We will continue to examine our procedures to work effectively within our resources.”
Marshak said the Sheriff’s Office is reviewing its jail procedures.
He also said the department’s mental health professionals visited inmates Wednesday night during the investigation, but no inmates said they had communicated with LeGrand.
All the inmates in the area were locked in their own cells and there were no other signs of violence, Marshak said.
Along with the misdemeanor charges in Jefferson County, LeGrand had been charged with stealing, a class D felony, in St. Louis County following a July 2019 arrest, court records show.
A class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison. A class A misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a possible fine of up to $2,000, and a class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in jail and a possible fine of up to $1,000.