A man arrested in Festus and later detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Ste. Genevieve County Jail died of an of an apparent suicide, ICE officials reported Wednesday.
In a statement, ICE officials said Leo Cruz-Silva, 34, of Mexico was in the U.S. illegally. ICE reported a jail staff member on Oct. 4 found Cruz-Silva with a sheet tied around his neck “in what looked like a suicide attempt.”
ICE said jail staffers and paramedics were unable to revive him.
Festus Police arrested Cruz-Silva on Sept. 30 for public intoxication and notified ICE. Cruz-Silva was released by the Festus Police on Oct. 1, when ICE agents arrested him and served him with a notice of intent to reinstate a previous removal order, according to the statement.
ICE officials said prior to his arrest in Festus, Cruz-Silva had been removed from the U.S. following two previous arrests in Tennessee and Texas.
Cruz-Silva was first arrested in June 2010 in Covington, Tenn., for alleged disorderly conduct. ICE said he had entered the country at an unknown date and location, and in July 2011 a Memphis immigration judge ordered Cruz-Silva to be removed to Mexico.
Cruz-Silva was able to reenter the U.S., and he was arrested again in February 2017 in Winchester, Tenn., for a probation violation. He was removed to Mexico again in April 2017, according to ICE.
Cruz-Silva again was able to return to the U.S. on an unknown date, but he was arrested by Border Patrol agents in September 2020 in Laredo, Texas, and returned to Mexico, ICE reported.