Lamont Cathey: Man who eats nails, screws and paints in jail cells to be imprisoned again for burglary
COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: Repeat offender Lamont Cathey has headed back to prison in Chicago for burglary and other charges. The 'jail-eater' is known for his bizarre eating habit as he has racked up millions for taxpayers after feeding himself on nails, screws, and paints from the jail cell he is occupied.
The 26-year-old man was sentenced on charges he faces for aiding and abetting, identity theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated fleeing, burglary, and other charges, as per jail records. A once-promising basketballer, Cathey who has a troubled past has been held under custody since March 1 at the Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois. With a parole date of May 14, 2024, he has a projected discharge date set on May 14, 2025, reported Law and Crime.
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Why is Cathey heading back to prison?
Cathey's new charges stemmed from an incident in February 2022 where he stole from a Google engineer's wallet, keys, phone, and Maserati by breaking into his locker. The man discovered the burglary after he left a yoga class. Costing more than $2 million for Cook County taxpayers over the years for ingesting metal items including four-inch piece thumbtacks, needles, leather, and screws at the prison. Lorine Barber, mother of Cathey said he needed psychological help and added that by 2016, her son had up to 20 surgeries for eating metal items "and pieces of whatever falls off the benches … paint, he don’t [sic] care. The doctor was like, ‘He’s gonna [sic] make it if he just stops eating (expletive)," reported CBS News.
Many other inmates follow similar bizarre eating habits
According to the media outlet, many inmates like Cathey have hair-raising eating habits including swallowing crews, buttons, unidentified metal, and also small parts of wheelchairs. Tom Dart, the Cook County Sheriff said, "I’m at a loss. I don’t know how to prevent some of this stuff anymore."
After racking up a $500,00 medical bill, there was an unusual court battle between Cook County and Loyola hospital following Cathey's health issues in jail. Without a father, the 'jail-eater' had a tough childhood. Until his arrest at the age of 17 for stealing cash from a pizza parlor safe, he played basketball at Division II college, reported the Chicago Tribune.
