MIDDLETOWN-CHARGED INMATE HANGS SELF
An Oklahoma man who was arrested for hiding outside a Port Monmouth home with an explosive device last year committed suicide while being held in Monmouth County jail, the Associated Press reports.
Zachary Sullivan who the AP reported as 18 years old, but was 28, according to Middletown police apparently hanged himself Friday morning in the shower area of the Monmouth County jail, where he was being held for crimes he was accused of committing in Middletown.
Authorities will conduct an autopsy, although the news service said the death was not ruled as suspicious.
Sullivan had been in the county jail since November, after he had been arrested by Middletown police on November 1.
Police at the time said Sullivan, who’s last known address was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was staying with a friend in the Port Monmouth section of town over the summer, but left after a financial dispute. Police were called to the same home, on Willow Drive, at about 1:45 a.m. November 1 on reports of a possible prowler, and found Sullivan hiding behind a car in the driveway of the residence, covered in a black substance.
Sullivan was alleged to be in possession of a Rat Smoke bomb, a white, powdery substance in a paper bag and a water bottle filled with dark liquid. He told police he was going to pull a Halloween prank at the home. Sullivan was charged with attempted arson, aggravated assault, possession of a destructive device and causing or risking widespread damage or injury.
He was being held on a $200,000 bond in jail at the time of his death.