Patrol will Investigate Death of Inmate at Missouri Jail

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has been asked to investigate the death of an inmate at a jail in the eastern part of the state.

St. Francois County Jail Capt. Greg Armstrong says 36-year-old William Ames, of Bismarck, died Sunday at the jail. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Armstrong declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Ames’ death and referred all questions to the patrol.

Armstrong says his department requested that the patrol investigate on Tuesday. That’s the same day Ames had been scheduled to be arraigned on charges of second-degree burglary, first-degree property damage and violating an order of protection for an adult.

A spokesman for the patrol says investigators have just gotten the case and don’t yet know enough to release any information.