SC Department of Corrections releases timeline of Greg Leon's final hours in prison

Gregorio “Greg” Leon apparently took his own life in a South Carolina prison in the short period of time between lunch being served and a security check on Friday afternoon, according to information from the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Alone in his cell, Leon, who authorities say hanged himself, may have remained undiscovered for only a few minutes or up to 20 minutes.

This information comes from a one-page summary of the final hours of restaurant owner Leon's life at Kirkland Correctional Institution, released Saturday by the Department of Corrections. Leon was incarcerated at Kirkland's Reception and Assessment Center.

The founder of the popular San Jose Mexican restaurant chain reportedly took his own life in prison on Friday. Leon was found guilty the week before of murdering his wife's lover on Valentine's Day 2016.

Timeline

Leon was moved to a housing unit with two other men on Wednesday, July 12. On Friday, he was alone in his unit – one cellmate was moved on Thursday, the other cellmate was at work at the time, performing “housing unit duties,” the document states.

The Department of Corrections has stated that it conducts standard checks on inmates twice an hour, or at most every 40 minutes, but that these checks “are not carried out on a strict schedule to limit predictability.” Therefore, Leon could have taken his own life at any time after the security check began at approximately 12:15 p.m.

The following schedule is based on information from the Prison Service.

• 11:06 am: The lunch trays have arrived at the unit. The trays are being distributed to the inmates.

• 11:10 am (approximately): The security check begins.

• 11:30 am: Security screening in the unit has been completed. All passengers are safe and sound. Security screening would have started approximately 20 minutes earlier.

• 11:40 am (approximately): The security check begins.

• 11:50 am: The facility count is cleared. This is a facility count that is conducted several times a day. All inmates are screened and accounted for. This is different from the security check that is conducted twice an hour.

• 12.00: The security check in the unit has been completed again. All passengers are OK. The security check would have started about 20 minutes earlier.

• 12:15pm (approximately): The security check begins.

• 12:20 pm: The delivery of the lunch trays has been completed.

• 12:35 p.m.: Security check completed. Security check would have started about 20 minutes earlier. All passengers are fine.

• 12:36 pm: Inmate Leon is found unconscious in his cell. The officer calls an A-team and medical personnel.

All new inmates in South Carolina spend 45 days at the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center on Broad River Road. They are assessed for mental and physical health and undergo a battery of other tests, including their educational level.

According to the prison authorities, Leon had already undergone a psychiatric examination.

“There was no indication that he needed to be placed on suicide watch or in need of further evaluation,” the document said. These procedures, according to the department, are in line with national standards and are approved by a court-appointed Mental Health Implementation Panel, which was established ten years ago following a settlement in a legal dispute.