The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the hanging death of a 55-year-old transient who was in custody last August.
A coroner’s inquest was held in Libby at the Lincoln County Courthouse on July 14 and 15 and headed up by Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Joseph Cik and Sanders County Coroner Kathy Harris.
According to the sheriff’s office, the man was arrested in Libby on Aug. 28, 2014 after he allegedly stole merchandise at a local store. He was charged with misdemeanor theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of dangerous drugs. He also had a $10,000 felony theft warrant out of Oregon. Officers at the time believed he did not pose a suicide threat although he was intoxicated at the time of his arrest. However, just two hours after he was arrested, the man hung himself in his cell.
Sheriff Roby Bowe said he was glad that his office was cleared of any wrong doing and said that his department would work hard to ensure that incidents like this don’t happen in the future.