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Inmate Commits Suicide at Putnam County Correctional Facility
Putnam Valley man found in cell after being arrested on drug charges
The Putnam County Sheriff's Department reports that an inmate at the Putnam County Correctional Facility died in an apparent suicide at the Facility on Saturday, May 20, 2006.
The deceased, Mr. Spencer E. Sinkov, aged 21, whose last address was in Putnam Valley, died about 2:00 pm on Saturday in his jail cell.
Mr. Sinkov, who was in jail after being arrested on narcotics charges the day before, apparently used a sweatshirt to hang himself in his cell. Efforts to save Mr. Sinkov by corrections officers, a jail nurse, and paramedics were unsuccessful.
Mr. Sinkov was one of a group of five people arrested by the Countywide Narcotics Enforcement Unit on Friday following a three-month-long investigation into heroin sales in and around Putnam Valley. Mr. Sinkov and another man, Mr. Robert C. Thompson, aged 27, a resident of the Lake Peekskill section of Putnam Valley, were charged with several felony counts of possession and sale of heroin. Three other persons a man and two women described as associates of Messrs. Sinkov and Thompson, were also arrested and charged with lesser counts in the case.
Undercover deputies and investigators in the Narcotics Unit arrested all five defendants on Friday afternoon and evening.
Sinkov and Thompson were arraigned and remanded to the jail on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond. The other three defendants were released on their own recognizance.
Mr. Sinkov was housed in the North Housing Unit of the jail. At about 1:39 pm on Saturday, a correction officer checked on Mr. Sinkov and observed him to be safe in his single-person cell. About ten minutes later, during the officer's next check, he found Mr. Sinkov slumped on the floor of his cell.
The first officer immediately called for assistance. Despite all efforts, Mr. Sinkov died.
Sheriff Smith ordered the department's Bureau of Criminal Investigation to investigate the incident. Jail staff also reported the incident to the New York State Commission of Correction.
The Putnam County Coroner's Office will perform an autopsy on Mr. Sinkov to officially determine the cause of death. The case will remain open until the coroner's report is rendered and the Commission of Correction has conducted its review of the matter.
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