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Patient Dies After Fight At Napa State Hospital

NAPA (CBS SF) - A Napa State Hospital patient died Monday evening when he was subdued after he allegedly attacked his roommate, a Napa County sheriff's captain said.

William Roebling, 47, allegedly attacked another patient in ward T-12 at the hospital just after 5 p.m. Monday, Capt. Tracey Stuart said.

Roebling died when psychiatric technicians intervened in the attack and subdued him, Stuart said.

Roebling was given CPR, but he was pronounced dead at 5:43 p.m., Stuart said. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

The patient who was attacked was not injured, Stuart said.

Roebling was being held in a secure area of the hospital, indicating he was not at the hospital under a civil commitment, Stuart said.

Sheriff's investigators will continue interviewing several witnesses to the attack, Stuart said.

Hospital staff members have renewed calls for increased security at the hospital since the death of 54-year-old psychiatric technician Donna Gross, of Concord, in an outdoor courtyard on Oct.23.

Patient Jess Williard Massey, 37, is suspected of strangling Gross and stealing her jewelry, some gum and less than $2. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 2 in Napa County Superior Court.

Since the murder, two other Napa State Hospital patients who were charged separately with assaulting hospital employees have been found incompetent to stand trial and were ordered back to mental health hospitals.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)

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