The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department are both still investigating the hanging death of a Winder resident who died seven hours after being transported to the Jackson County Jail.

On Nov. 12, Ricky Finch was arrested on open container, public drunkenness and theft by taking charges. The 50-year-old was brought to the Jackson County jail by the Arcade Police Department at around 2:30 p.m. and by 9:30 p.m. Finch was found dead in his cell.

"He was placed in a segregation cell after indicating that he wanted to harm himself and placed on a 15-minute watch," said Major David Cochran, of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. "He was found at approximately 9:30 p.m. hanging in the cell with a pair of socks and was pronounced dead."

According to Cochran, this is the first death by hanging that the Jackson County jail has had.

With just a few weeks left in the year, Finch’s death marks the facility’s second death in 2008. The other death was due to a "massive heart attack," Cochran says.

"The Georgia Bureau of Investigation along with the sheriff’s office are conducting an investigation into this incident, which is customary, along with reviewing security tapes," Cochran said.