An Adams County jail inmate who authorities said hung himself over the weekend was a long-time criminal who killed himself 12 days after his capture on numerous escape and parole violations.
Authorities identified the man as Corey Rhett Starnes, 30, of Westminister.
Starnes was found about 12:30 a.m. Saturday by deputies during a routine check, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office said. Starnes was being housed without a cellmate.
The sheriff’s office said he used bedding to hang himself.
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Starnes was a fugitive at the time of his arrest on April 14 and his transfer to the Adams County jail.
The CBI and court files show that Starnes first brushes with the law occurred in Gilpin and Jefferson counties in the late 1990s.
He was subsequently arrested over the next 10 years for offenses such as larceny, contempt of court, fraud, theft, trespassing, drugs, and escape.
Early this year, he was arrested on suspicion of the distribution and manufacture of dangerous drugs.
Starnes received various prison sentences on charges ranging from trespass and theft to escape.
Adams County officials said that after they found Starnes, they tried to resuscitate him, but were unsuccessful.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
