Augusta teen dies in jail from apparent self-inflicted wound

Stacey Lopez

Date: September 07, 2023

Richmond County authorities have asked the GBI to investigate after an Augusta teen died Wednesday after suffering an apparent self-inflicted wound in the jail the day before.

Stacey Lopez, 18, was found unresponsive in an isolation cell around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday inside the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. Sheriff’s officials say she was suffering from “what is believed to be a self-inflicted injury,” a press release says.

Lopez was rushed to the hospital where she died on Wednesday.

“The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate this incident since it occurred at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center,” the RCSO release says.

Lopez was brought back to the jail on Aug. 29 on a failure to appear bail jumping felony warrant. She was surrendered by her bondsman after not appearing for court from an armed robbery case.

She was accused in March of holding up a Peach Orchard Drugs pharmacy with her boyfriend and making off with a load of prescription drugs. William Cyrie Simmons, 24, was also charged.

William Cyrie Simmons, 24, and Stacey Lopez, 18, were charged with armed robbery and weapon possession.

The male suspect walked into the pharmacy dressed in dark clothing and carrying a dark bag. He approached the pharmacy counter, displayed a handgun and demanded prescription drugs, sheriff’s Sgt. Caleb Lee said. He then walked to a cabinet himself and took an unknown amount of narcotics before running outside to an SUV, driven by the young woman.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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