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By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:46 p.m. EST, Nov 02, 2009
An Akron man awaiting sentencing today for assaulting his former roommate with a machete apparently attempted to commit suicide at the Summit County Jail this weekend and is being held in the jail's mental unit, authorities said.
Jay Sheridan Andrews, 57, was scheduled to appear before Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty for a sentencing hearing at 9 a.m. today.
Andrews, who acknowledged at his trial last week that he is gay and dresses in women's clothes, was facing a maximum prison sentence of 18 years after being convicted of two counts of felonious assault.
Trial testimony established that his former roommate, Richard J. Bracken, an admitted crack cocaine addict, was struck in the head three times with a machete and had the top of his left ear bitten off during the struggle with Andrews at his home in the 300 block of East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue in June.
Reid Yoder, Andrews' lawyer, said he was informed about the suicide attempt when he went to the jail Sunday to check on his client before sentencing.
Andrews left a note and attempted to slash his neck with some sort of instrument, Yoder said this morning.
Yoder said it is not clear when the suicide attempt occurred, but jail officials discovered the neck injuries Sunday morning.
''They immediately took him into the nursing facility and did what they could, but they realized he needed more medical attention so they transported him to [Akron General Medical Center],'' Yoder said.
Jail officials were informed by hospital personnel that Andrews came ''extremely close but did not hit the carotid artery. He required stitches, but I don't know how many at this time,'' Yoder said.
In four hours of testimony last week, Andrews gave deep insights into his life in the last several years, saying he had become very lonely and was looking for a ''tough guy'' to help protect him from neighborhood gangs.
Andrews and Bracken, who met each other at the county jail this spring, became roommates when they got out and spent two months living together at the Falls Avenue home before the fight.
Yoder said the 100-year-old home was in a trust in the name of the Andrews family, but was nearing the final stages of foreclosure proceedings when the attack occurred in the early hours of June 21.
The fight started after Andrews refused to hand over $10 to Bracken for a crack buy. Bracken then went into a ''blank rage,'' Andrews told the jury, and trashed the kitchen.
In the note Andrews apparently left behind, he wrote about missing his parents, Yoder said.
''Ever since his parents had passed, he said he has been lonely and depressed and missing them, and he wanted to be with them,'' Yoder said.
Andrews, who testified that he was a medic in the U.S. Army Reserve and served in Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, said he lost both of his parents early this decade.
His father, Jay K. Andrews, a World War II veteran, Kent State University graduate and owner of J&J Pizza in North Hill for 23 years, died at age 76 in November 2002, according to Beacon Journal archives.
His mother, Mary M. Andrews, was a University of Akron graduate and former teacher in the Field and Medina school systems. She died at age 76 in January 2000.
Sheriff Drew Alexander said Andrews was in the jail's psychological ward this morning. Jail commanders were not immediately available for comment.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
An Akron man awaiting sentencing today for assaulting his former roommate with a machete apparently attempted to commit suicide at the Summit County Jail this weekend and is being held in the jail's mental unit, authorities said.
Jay Sheridan Andrews, 57, was scheduled to appear before Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty for a sentencing hearing at 9 a.m. today.
Andrews, who acknowledged at his trial last week that he is gay and dresses in women's clothes, was facing a maximum prison sentence of 18 years after being convicted of two counts of felonious assault.
Trial testimony established that his former roommate, Richard J. Bracken, an admitted crack cocaine addict, was struck in the head three times with a machete and had the top of his left ear bitten off during the struggle with Andrews at his home in the 300 block of East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue in June.
Reid Yoder, Andrews' lawyer, said he was informed about the suicide attempt when he went to the jail Sunday to check on his client before sentencing.
Andrews left a note and attempted to slash his neck with some sort of instrument, Yoder said this morning.
Yoder said it is not clear when the suicide attempt occurred, but jail officials discovered the neck injuries Sunday morning.
''They immediately took him into the nursing facility and did what they could, but they realized he needed more medical attention so they transported him to [Akron General Medical Center],'' Yoder said.
Jail officials were informed by hospital personnel that Andrews came ''extremely close but did not hit the carotid artery. He required stitches, but I don't know how many at this time,'' Yoder said.
In four hours of testimony last week, Andrews gave deep insights into his life in the last several years, saying he had become very lonely and was looking for a ''tough guy'' to help protect him from neighborhood gangs.
Andrews and Bracken, who met each other at the county jail this spring, became roommates when they got out and spent two months living together at the Falls Avenue home before the fight.
Yoder said the 100-year-old home was in a trust in the name of the Andrews family, but was nearing the final stages of foreclosure proceedings when the attack occurred in the early hours of June 21.
The fight started after Andrews refused to hand over $10 to Bracken for a crack buy. Bracken then went into a ''blank rage,'' Andrews told the jury, and trashed the kitchen.
In the note Andrews apparently left behind, he wrote about missing his parents, Yoder said.
''Ever since his parents had passed, he said he has been lonely and depressed and missing them, and he wanted to be with them,'' Yoder said.
Andrews, who testified that he was a medic in the U.S. Army Reserve and served in Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, said he lost both of his parents early this decade.
His father, Jay K. Andrews, a World War II veteran, Kent State University graduate and owner of J&J Pizza in North Hill for 23 years, died at age 76 in November 2002, according to Beacon Journal archives.
His mother, Mary M. Andrews, was a University of Akron graduate and former teacher in the Field and Medina school systems. She died at age 76 in January 2000.
Sheriff Drew Alexander said Andrews was in the jail's psychological ward this morning. Jail commanders were not immediately available for comment.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Norton, Oh
Posted 01:00 PM, 11/02/2009
Why stop him? If he wants to kill hemself, by all means lets him.. His funeral saves us taxpayer money to house him for 20 years..
Norton, Oh
Posted 01:00 PM, 11/02/2009
himself**
somewhere near you, OH
Posted 01:39 PM, 11/02/2009
"Attempts"??? Can't they do anything right in that jail? They had a chance at the best outcome and they blew it.
I'm now fully convinced the SCJ needs major reform.
Akron, OH
Posted 01:47 PM, 11/02/2009
They should have let him do it.
highland lakes, nj
Posted 01:50 PM, 11/02/2009
@Zapdog; I agree, why do we feel so obligated to make these thugs feel wanted and make their time incarcerated comfortable? Stick them all in a cage with bread and water and no amenities other than absolute necessities and let them think about their actions 24/7!!!For some reason we continually try to improve their life style and living conditions. Should be the opposite.
Tallmadge, Oh
Posted 02:15 PM, 11/02/2009
This is Mayor Don's fault!
oıɥo 'uoɹʞɐ, ㏊㏊
Posted 02:45 PM, 11/02/2009
More drama.
I still wonder what they were in jail for.
Stow, OH
Posted 03:10 PM, 11/02/2009
To retlaw in nj: I think that having concern about the welfare of the people we lock-up is what makes us different from them.
akron, oh
Posted 03:21 PM, 11/02/2009
Oh Please. A couple of freaks "hook up" in jail and gee who would have guessed that could go wrong. Apparently this guy didn't "try" hard enough to kill himself.
@Think, if you are like these two, you need help.
highland lakes, nj
Posted 03:56 PM, 11/02/2009
@think; and look where it continually gets us. Treat them well, let them out, and then complain when they repeat. What happened to the concern for their victims??
Stow, OH
Posted 04:59 PM, 11/02/2009
To sheila: If you are correct, I do need help because I think of these two as fellow human beings. I am skeptical of anyone who claims to be morally superior to anyone else.
Norton, Oh
Posted 05:03 PM, 11/02/2009
Pure SPec - he was in jail for attempted murder with a machete'... (Read the story)
kent, oh
Posted 05:25 PM, 11/02/2009
Summit County needs to leave some rope lying around.
oıɥo 'uoɹʞɐ, ㏊㏊
Posted 06:20 PM, 11/02/2009
Zappy, they met in jail BEFORE the machete incident...(read the story)
Munroe Falls, Oh
Posted 06:59 PM, 11/02/2009
Another inmate almost dies in the Summit County Jail. Deja Vu?
Norton, Oh
Posted 07:12 PM, 11/02/2009
@Think - At what point do you believe that a human becomes an animal? When you choose to live outside the guidelines of a civilized society, why should you be treated as a member of said society? By your standards, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gasey, Ted Kozinski, etc, should be treated the same as you or I who follow these guielines. When you act as an animal who has no respect for human life, then you deserve to lose that respect yourself.
akron, oh
Posted 07:30 PM, 11/02/2009
who stopped him? that person should be fired
highland lakes, nj
Posted 07:57 PM, 11/02/2009
@zapdog; perfectly said, right to the point!!!
Stow, OH
Posted 10:42 PM, 11/02/2009
To Zapdog: I do not think a human ever becomes an animal. I do not think the three people you named and others deserve to be treated in the same way as those who have not been convicted of crimes. I believe that they should be locked away but treated humanely - food, shelter, medical treatment, etc. I do undersand your point of view, it is just not one that I share. Thanks for your response.
highland lakes, nj
Posted 11:49 PM, 11/02/2009
@Think; I wonder how much compassion you'd have if something happened to your wife, daughter, granddaughter,or husband etc. depending on your gender. You could go in for Sunday visitation with a treat, share a soda and tell them it's ok and everything is fine, in your world!!
Stow, OH
Posted 09:27 AM, 11/03/2009
To retlaw in nj: As with all of us, life has brought me some problems, but none that have been truly horrible, so I cannot answer your question. I know a fellow whose parents were murdered who has forgiven the murderer and know another person whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver who has not. I just hope that I will never be able to answer. Both are good men - I am certainly in no position to judge them. I hope that life has spared you the need to deal with such things as well.
Akron, , OH
Posted 09:49 AM, 11/03/2009
ugly in ward 8
Akron, Oh
Posted 10:28 AM, 11/03/2009
Well, this wasn't the first failure in his life...
CuyahogaFalls, oh
Posted 10:46 AM, 11/03/2009
Some very good comments. Each of us has our own opinions and feelings which makes us all different from one another. I believe if you can't function in society with normal people then you should be kept out of it. And yes some people do turn into wild animals of some sort.
akron, oh
Posted 11:26 AM, 11/03/2009
@Think: I agree with you. Compassion seperates us from the animals ( by definition, this is our soul). To protect our souls, we must live in Christ's image.
