Man charged in boy's murder found hanged in cell

WASHINGTON - A man charged in the shooting death of a 9-year-old boy hanged himself inside the D.C. Jail, WTOP has learned.

Josue Pena, 26, was found in his cell at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Paramedics performed CPR on Pena and he was rushed to Howard University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 2 p.m., D.C. Department of Corrections officials tell WTOP.

D.C. Department of Corrections spokesperson Sylvia Lane says Pena was placed in a special management unit that is reserved for inmates who require enhanced supervision for security reasons.

Lane says Pena was not on a suicide watch and there is no video surveillance of the cell, but corrections officers do check inmates in the special unit every 30 minutes.

. Pena, who was described as an associate of MS-13, died of cardiac arrest brought on by asphyxiation by using a bed sheet to hang himself. His death is under investigation.

Pena, who had no fixed address, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Oscar Fuentes. Pena was arrested Nov. 17 and was ordered held without bond by a D.C. Superior Court judge.

Fuentes was shot Nov. 14 as he and his family hid behind the locked door of their Columbia Heights apartment.

Police say Pena followed Fuentes and his family into the apartment building in the 1400 block of Columbia Road after trying to rob several people on the street.

The shooting highlighted the lack of security at the building, which - according to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty - had more than a hundred code violations, including a broken front door.

The city has since replaced the door and a police officer is now stationed on the street for added security.

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