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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A 23-year-old man suspected of taking part in robberies in Idaho and Utah died while in custody after jumping over a railing and falling 13 feet at the Blaine County Jail in central Idaho, authorities said.
Mitchel Wayne Christensen of Buhl died Saturday afternoon in a Boise hospital of blunt-force trauma to the head, the Ada County Coroner's Office said Tuesday.
Police arrested Christensen on Thursday after he didn't appear for a June 9 court date, Blaine County Sheriff Gene Ramsey said.
Ramsey said that on Friday, Christensen was out of his cell in a day area when he climbed on a railing and jumped from the jail's mezzanine level, sustaining head and spinal injuries. He was taken to a Ketchum hospital and then flown to Boise.
"It's tragic for him, society and his family," Ramsey said. He said the Jerome County Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation.
Christensen in March faced charges of felony grand theft and a misdemeanor count of providing false information to police after a robbery in December at a convenience store in Ketchum.
He was released on bond in January and then granted a furlough in May, Ramsey said, to get help at The Walker Center in Gooding. The facility offers treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.
But authorities say Christensen never completed treatment, instead taking part in additional robberies.
Police in Blackfoot in eastern Idaho identified Christensen as a suspect in a May 27 robbery of a Walgreens, leading to an arrest warrant with a $1 million bond. Physical evidence and a surveillance video linked him to the crime, police said.
Christensen was the getaway driver in a Kmart pharmacy robbery on March 10 in Twin Falls, police in southern Idaho said.
Twin Falls police say they have been contacted by police in South Ogden, Utah, seeking information about Christensen concerning a robbery of a pharmacy in that city.
South Ogden police identified Christensen as one of three suspects in the robbery of the Walgreen's pharmacy at 255 36th Street in South Ogden on April 30.
Contributing: Linda Williams
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