Suspected Child Molester Found Hanging In His Jail Cell Wednesday

At approximately 1:40 p.m. today, a sheriff’s deputy was conducting room checks at the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) in Richmond. While approaching a room, he noticed an inmate hanging from his bunk by a bedsheet. The deputy, as well as medical staff at the jail, immediately began lifesaving measures but the inmate was later pronounced deceased.

The inmate is identified as 72-year-old Enrique Pina of Walnut Creek. He was arrested on September 24, 2018 and has been in custody since then, booked on nine felony charges that include sodomy with a child who is 10 years of age or younger, oral copulation of a child who is 10 years of age or younger, and using force to commit lewd and lascivious acts against a
child under the age of 14.

Pina was being held in lieu of $4.8 million bail.

Pina, who was also suffering from a terminal illness according to the sheriff, was evaluated last month by a Mental Health Clinician from Contra Costa Mental Health (CCMH). Pina was cleared to remain on the module at WCDF and was being monitored by CCMH.

The in-custody death protocol was invoked and the investigation is ongoing, conducted by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff.