Deputies subdue inmate after he stabs himself

12/28/2002

BOWLING GREEN - An inmate at the Wood County jail who stabbed himself with a pencil until he was bleeding had to be subdued with an electric stun device.

James L. Stevens, Jr., 25, of Bowling Green was subdued about 7:45 p.m. Thursday after he refused to obey deputies' orders to lie on the floor with his hands behind his back. Chief Deputy Mark Hummer said the inmate, who is 6-foot-5 and 375 pounds, was then treated by medical personnel at the jail and placed in an individual holding cell.

Stevens, who is in jail on charges of resisting arrest, inducing panic, and disorderly conduct, was charged last week with felony vandalism after he destroyed a television, bulletin board, and other items at the jail, Chief Deputy Hummer said.