New York man hangs self in jail after arrest over purse snatching, heroin possession

New York man hangs self in jail after arrest over purse snatching, heroin possession

2010-10-06 11:14:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

EAST MEADOW, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- A 31-year-old man arrested for purse snatching and heroin possession in Nassau County, New York on Sunday has died after a suicide attempt in jail, police said on early Wednesday morning.

Gasparino Godino, 31, of Bethpage was arrested on late Sunday evening along with 23-year-old Shanna Lintz after committing two robberies in the Hempstead hamlet of Levittown. According to detectives, the pair arrived at Waldbaums and attempted, but were unsuccessful in removing the pocketbook of a fifty-two year old woman.

The suspects then drove to King Kullen and approached a fifty-six year old woman in the parking lot. They pushed her to the ground and drove off with her pocketbook containing an undetermined amount of cash, credit cards and personal items. A short time later, the suspects were observed inside a rented 2010 Hyundai Sonata and arrested without incident.

Each defendant was found to be in possession of a substance believed to be heroin, police said, who charged them with Robbery 2nd (Attempt), Robbery 2nd Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.

But on early Tuesday evening, Godino was found hanging in his cell at approximately 6.05 p.m. while being housed at the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 7.02 p.m. EDT by hospital staff.

Lintz still faces the charges and will be arraigned soon as medically practical, police added.

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