Leon County Sheriff's Office now investigating fourth jail inmate death in recent months

Another Leon County jail inmate has died, the Leon County Sheriff's Office announced Sunday, making this the fourth death in roughly three months.

Detention Facility staff found Richard Robart, 40, hanging inside his cell around 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Shonda Knight, spokesperson for Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil.

Staff "immediately began life-saving measures and contacted paramedics. Robart was transported to a local hospital. He was unfortunately pronounced deceased approximately 2 p.m. today," Knight wrote in a statement to news media.

She added: "The Leon County Sheriff’s Office is following standard protocol for an in-custody death by investigating. The Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine cause and manner of death."

According to court dockets, Robart was in jail for a recent violation of probation on a prior 2022 charge of burglary of an occupied dwelling. This month, a judge ordered an expert to evaluate his competency to proceed, as well as set a "mental health hearing" for August.

Dockets also show that a psychological evaluation had been filed with the court, but it was unable to be viewed Sunday.

Robart now makes four Leon County jail inmates who have died since April, according to previous reporting by the Democrat:

∎ Rachel Reeve, 43, was brought to the jail early that month "after being medically cleared by a local hospital," according to an agency news release at the time. She was found unresponsive in her cell and later died.

Reeve had been arrested on outstanding warrants for inhaling or ingesting a harmful substance and failures to appear for possession of a controlled substance charges. She was put under observation after "making threatening statements to harm herself," LCSO said.

∎ Three days later, John Russo, 26, also was "found unresponsive in his cell," LCSO said. Knight said he was in the cell by himself, but declined to provide any other details at the time, including whether there was any indication of suicide.

∎ In May, Taurean Clark, 36, died one day after he was taken to a local hospital. Clark was being held on a number of charges, including drug trafficking.

Also, in 2022, three inmates hanged themselves inside the jail – the first time in 27 years that three in-custody suicides occurred within a year.

News Director Jim Rosica can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.