Maryland man was one of ‘America’s Most Wanted’

By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

HAHNVILLE – An inmate at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center, who attempted suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell, died from his injuries over the weekend.

Ronald Lee Moore, 40, a maximum-security inmate who had been listed as one of America’s Most Wanted criminals, was pronounced dead at 1:01 a.m. Saturday by doctors at Ochsner Hospital in Jefferson Parish. Moore was in critical condition since January 2, when deputies working at the jail found him hanging by the drawstring of a laundry bag that was tied to the air conditioning vent of his cell.

Sgt. Dwayne LaGrange, a spokesperson for the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office, said deputies working at the jail acted quickly to untie Moore and perform CPR. LaGrange said after a few minutes of resuscitation, Moore began breathing again and registered weak vital signs.

Moore was transferred to St. Charles Hospital, and later to Ochsner Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

LaGrange said Moore, a Maryland native, was arrested December 24 after burglarizing two homes in the Destrehan area. While deputies attempted to determine Moore’s true identity, it was discovered he was wanted in Maryland on a long list of charges ranging from simple burglary to aggravated rape.

St. Charles Sheriff’s officials said Moore had been living in the Destrehan area at the time of his arrest. He was inadvertently released from the Baltimore City Correctional Center in November of 2007 after a detention order pertaining to his rape charges was disregarded.

He was being held at the jail pending extradition to Maryland where he was to stand trial.