Suspect in local identity theft case dies in Island County jail

Published 2:43 pm Sunday, April 12, 2015

The death of an inmate at Island County Jail, a 25-year-old man with ties to the San Juan Islands, is under investigation by authorities on Whidbey Island.

The Island County Sheriff’s Office and Island County coroner are looking into the death of Keaton Farris, who, according the Whidbey News-Times, a sister paper of the Journal, was found dead in his jail cell April 8, shortly after midnight.

He was by himself in a so-called “safety room” at the jail when he died, according to Island County Sheriff Mark Brown. An autopsy was expected to be performed late last week, Brown said.

According to the sheriff, Farris was a suspect in an identity theft case originating in San Juan County and had been incarcerated in the Coupeville detention facility since March 26.

He was being held in lieu of $10,000 and had been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, according to court records.

— Scott Rasmussen