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Detectives are investigating the apparent suicide of a Tooele County Jail inmate who was found dead inside his maximum security cell.
Sheriff Frank Park said Wednesday that Robert Allan Shutt, 37, apparently hanged himself. He was found unconscious and on the floor at 5 p.m. Monday by a jail officer delivering meals to inmates. The officer opened and entered the single-occupant cell and attempted to resuscitate Shutt until paramedics arrived; Shutt was pronounced dead at 5:25 p.m.
While the investigation is ongoing and Park did not release further details, he did say that initial evidence indicated that Shutt "committed suicide by strangulation."
"This incident is very unfortunate. Every attempt is made to keep inmates safe and secure while in the detention center," Park said.
Jail officials said Shutt had not exhibited any signs of depression prior to his death.
At the time of his death, Shutt was being held on three first-degree felony counts of aggravated robbery and two third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault. The charges stemmed from Shutt's alleged use of a toy gun to rob a woman of her purse and car keys at a downtown Tooele business on March 20.
Shutt had been scheduled for an April 2 appearance in Tooele's 3rd District Court.
The Utah Department of Corrections reports that Shutt had served time in prison for theft, forgery, burglary and joyriding between 1995 and his most recent release in October 2012.
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