Family Wants Answers in Jailhouse Death

The mother of a 33-year-old El Cajon man who reportedly hanged himself at County Jail charged Friday that the Sheriff’s Department was negligent in handling her apparently suicidal son.

Deputies had arrested Paul William Ballard on Monday night for bothering his estranged wife outside her El Cajon apartment, but a few hours after being taken into custody, Ballard was discovered hanging in his jail cell.

An investigation is being conducted by sheriff’s homicide detectives, but Pat Honstine, Ballard’s mother, said deputies failed to take care of her son despite a warning by the estranged wife that he might be suicidal.

“I want to know if they killed him and why they didn’t take care of him the way they should have. . . . They’re supposed to serve and protect,� Honstine said in a telephone interview from her home in Thief River Falls, Minn.

A spokeswoman, Deputy Pearl Janulewicz, defended the department Friday.

Janulewicz said that, under department policy, those arrested are interviewed by a nurse from the jail medical staff who determines whether they pose a danger to themselves before they are placed in a cell.

“The Sheriff’s Department followed their policies in this situation,� Janulewicz said. “I assume he was not deemed a danger to himself because he was not placed on suicide watch,� the spokeswoman said of Ballard.

Meanwhile, Michelle Ballard, the victim’s estranged wife, has retained attorney Don Ceplenski, who said Friday he will wait until the department’s investigation and an autopsy are completed before deciding whether to file a lawsuit.

Ceplenski said he also plans to listen to the initial 911 call that Michelle Ballard placed to the Sheriff’s Communication Center.

“I mainly am really concerned about the fact that he was a suicide threat and a really strong threat, according to his wife,� Ceplenski said. “I’m going to have to find out why this very tragic accident took place, and in my mind there are questions that need to be answered.�

According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Department, Ballard was arrested at about 11 p.m. Monday after receiving a call from his estranged wife, who told authorities her husband was drunk and that he talked of committing suicide.

Ballard was taken into custody, and about a half an hour later he entered the booking area of the County Jail, where he was questioned about his physical and emotional state.

At that point, according to the press release, he told sheriff’s deputies that he was not suicidal, but jail officials determined that he was too drunk to book, so they placed him in a detoxification cell.

But, by 12:40 a.m., Ballard was discovered hanging inside his cell.

Ballard apparently had tied a pair of tube socks together and run them though a support bar for the handicapped, positioned 33 inches off the ground, which has since been removed.

Lt. John Tenwolde declined to comment on the investigation, say detectives are still questioning people.

“People are going to have to be patient and allow us to investigate this,� Tenwolde said. “At that point and time, we’ll be in a better position to know these things.�

One point that Honstine said she’d like to have ironed out is why her son was taken into custody in the first place.

Honstine said her daughter-in-law told sheriff’s deputies that her husband wanted to go to the hospital for help, but authorities allegedly replied that her husband was too drunk to be taken to the hospital and instead handcuffed him and placed him under arrest.

Memorial services will be held for Ballard on Tuesday in Thief River Falls, where his three children have been staying with Honstine for four months.

According to Honstine, Ballard had apparently grown despondent in recent months over financial problems, the breakup of his marriage and the loss of his job.

“He was a decent person. . . . He had his problems in life, but he had a good way of looking at things,� Honstine said as she broke into tears. “I loved him so much . . . so much . . . he was such a good little boy.�