PULASKI MAN CUTS HIS WRISTS IN COURT

Two Courtroom Security Officers Clamped The Wounds And Acted As Human
Tourniquets

A Pulaski man slashed his wrists in a federal courtroom in Roanoke on
Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to drug charges, and officials say
the blade he used was so small it could not be detected in a pat-down search.

John Timothy Underwood, 38, had just pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine plus two counts of
carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime when he
nonchalantly reached into the front pocket of his jail uniform and made a
rubbing motion at each of his wrists, said supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal
Ron Donelson.

Two courtroom security officers almost immediately noticed the blood,
witnesses said.

"They performed very well. They stepped right up and clamped the wounds and
acted as human tourniquets," said attorney Roger Hagan, who represents one
of Underwood's co-defendants in the case.

Underwood was taken by medics to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where
he was treated and released. He was placed on suicide watch at the Roanoke
City Jail later Wednesday, Donelson said.

Heidi Coy, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Roanoke, said
Underwood is facing 35 years in prison in connection with his plea deal.

"It is regretful that Mr. Underwood harmed himself," she said, "and we
commend the quick actions of the U.S. Marshals and the courthouse staff."

Underwood, who came to court wearing a knee brace and walking with
crutches, was sitting before U.S. District Judge Samuel Wilson when he cut
himself. His co-defendants, Joshua Roop, 20, and Stephanie Lane, 50, had
also just pleaded guilty to methamphetamine distribution charges.

Donelson said the blade that Underwood used appeared to be extracted from
the kind of disposable razor issued to inmates at Roanoke City Jail, where
Underwood was housed. It was about one-eighth of an inch wide and one inch
long, not as big as a standard razor blade.

"They are security razors designed for institutional use," said Roanoke
City Sheriff's Maj. Jim Brubaker, "and the blade in it is very, very tiny.
It is very sharp for shaving purposes, but if you bust the plastic frame
from around it, it is not the typical size."

Following standard procedure, jail personnel patted down Underwood once
before he was turned over to the U.S. Marshal's Service for transportation
to the hearing, Brubaker said. Then, the marshals conducted a second
pat-down when he came into their custody.

Donelson and Brubaker said they don't use metal detectors to search
inmates, and Brubaker added that pat-down searches are far more effective.
They both said they doubted that the blade Underwood carried would have set
off a metal detector.

"There is certainly more metal in a bracelet or even a pair of earrings
than there is in one of those blades," Brubaker said, noting that jewelry
and belt buckles often do not set off metal detectors.

Brubaker said that deputies are trained to pat down pockets rather than
sticking their hands inside them and risking injury. But he said that he
plans to notify all deputies of Wednesday's incident and instruct them to
carefully check inside pockets once they've patted down and restrained the
inmate.

Hagan and Underwood's attorney, Richard Derrico, said they had never heard
of an incident like that in their combined 39 years in practice. Donelson
said it is not a frequent occurrence in the country.

"There is no real way to ensure that something that small does not get
overlooked," Donelson said, later adding: "That's not to make excuses.
Stuff like this should have been found."