A Floyd County Jail inmate was pronounced dead at Floyd Medical Center on Saturday afternoon after hanging himself with sheets in his cellblock around 4:45 p.m., jail officials said.

Zechariah Alexander Vest, 30, was being housed in the O-block at the jail, which is where mental health inmates are kept, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. He was in a cell alone with the door locked, said Chief Deputy Tom Caldwell. 

Vest had attempted suicide twice previously at the jail — once when he was in the jail in 2009 and another time in May of this year when deputies noticed scratches on his neck, according Caldwell.

A jailer was able to get Vest down quickly Saturday. The jailer used a restraint cutter that is now carried by all deputies since the 2011 suicide of an- other inmate who died after hanging himself with sheets. Jail staff attempted CPR, but Vest was pronounced dead at the hospital at 5:10 p.m., according to jail officials. 

Vest had been in jail since May 6, 2011, on charges of probation violation, stalking, interference with government property and first-degree criminal damage to property.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to conduct an outside investigation, which is standard procedure when there is an in-custody death. 

A coroner’s inquest is planned at a later date, which is also standard procedure.