Gregorio Leon III was evaluated by mental health professionals before he died of a suspected suicide July 14, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Leon, 56, was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell at the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia at about 12:30 p.m. and died that night at a local hospital, the department detailed.

Eric Bland, a local attorney and friend of Leon, announced that he died shortly before midnight.

The inmate, who owned several local San Jose Mexican restaurants, was sentenced to 30 years in prison July 6, the state minimum for murder, after being found guilty of killing Arturo Bravos Santos, 28, who was engaged in a romantic relationship with Leon’s wife, on Valentine’s Day 2016.

Though Leon was only part way through the roughly 45-day reception and evaluation process, his mental health had already been assessed, and “there was nothing to indicate he needed a different level of scrutiny,” Chrysti Shain, the correction’s department’s director of communications, told the Chronicle.

“Inmates are evaluated on a number of areas, including medical, mental health, education, substance abuse, job skills, goals and other metrics to determine the best institution for them to spend their sentence,” she said of the reception and evaluation process. “For example, if an inmate needs kidney dialysis, he needs to be assigned to an institution where he can get treatment. Or, if an inmate wants to complete a technical school or college degree, we have institutions where that is possible.”

Shain noted that the department’s mental health processes are overseen strictly by a court-appointed Mental Health Implementation Panel and meet national standards. 

Kirkland has a crisis unit where inmates who are threats to themselves are cared for, but Leon was not deemed to be a suicide risk, Shain said.

At the time of his death, Leon was alone in his cell, which he was moved into on July 12, Shain detailed. He initially had two cellmates, but one of them moved out July 13. His remaining cellmate was working in the living unit July 14, leaving Leon by himself.

“Per policy, inmates in reception and evaluation are checked on twice an hour,” Shain said. “During this check, officers must personally observe each inmate. The checks are not done on a strict schedule to limit predictability, but must be done within 40 minutes.

“Checks begin in one end of the living area and go throughout. They generally take 20 minutes from start to finish.”

Shain shared a timeline for Leon’s unit on July 14:

11:06 a.m.: Lunch trays arrived in the unit. Inmate trays begin to be distributed.

• 11:30 a.m.: Security check is complete in the unit. Security check would have started roughly 20 minutes earlier. All inmates OK.
• 11:50 a.m.: Institution count clears. This is an institution-wide count that happens several times a day. All inmates are seen and accounted for. This is different from the security check that happens two times an hour.
• Noon: Security check complete again in the unit. All inmates OK. Security check would have started roughly 20 minutes earlier.
• 12:20 p.m.: All lunch trays have been delivered.
• 12:35 p.m.: Security check complete again. All inmates OK. Security check would have started roughly 20 minutes earlier.
• 12:36 p.m.: Inmate Leon is found unresponsive in his cell. Officer calls for A team and medical to respond.

Leon was taken by EMS to a local hospital. Shain said she couldn’t yet provide any timeline as to when they arrived at Kirkland, when they got to Leon’s cell and when they left with him for transport to the hospital.