Amador County Jail inmate Jeffrey Lee Walker, 48, of Sacramento was found dead in his cell by Amador County Sheriff's Corrections Officers during routine cell checks on Thursday at 12:15 a.m.

Walker had been observed by staff during standing count at evening lock down at approximately 11 p.m. Walker was found having hanged himself from a window grate using a strip of cloth suspected to be from a torn bed sheet.

Walker was housed in a cell by himself and was one of 19 inmates housed in a cell block with a Corrections Standards Authority rated capacity of 22 inmates. Walker had been in custody at the Amador County Jail since June 17 due to an alleged violation of probation. Walker was originally arrested on Aug. 28, 2007 for possession of a narcotic controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of drug use paraphernalia and impersonating another to create liability. Walker plead guilty to transportation of a controlled substance on March 10, 2008 and was subsequently granted probation.

Detectives from the Amador County Sheriff-Coroner's Office are conducting the death investigation and have asked the California Department of Justice Bureau of Investigations to conduct an independent review of that investigation. The forensic pathologist examination of Walker will be conducted by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office. The Amador County Sheriff's Office will also conduct a separate administrative investigation into the incident.

This is the first death to occur in the current Amador County Jail since it opened in 1984.