COUPEVILLE — Two former Island County jailers made their first court appearance since being charged with falsifying records after the 2015 death of Keaton Farris in the Coupeville lockup.
Mark Moffitt and David Lind pleaded not guilty Monday to false reporting by a public officer, a gross misdemeanor. Moffitt’s trial is scheduled for July 18. Lind’s is scheduled for July 31. Both are living outside Washington now.
Prosecutors allege the pair doctored the jail log after Farris was found dead in his cell. They allegedly made entries to make it appear that they’d checked on him.
Farris, 25, died from dehydration after the water to his cell was turned off. An investigation by Island County sheriff’s detective Ed Wallace found that corrections officers failed to regularly check on Keaton and no one was monitoring his water or food intake.
No one has been charged in connection with the death. Whatcom County Prosecutor David McEachran has said there were missteps by too many people to identify any one person who was criminally liable.
The death and a civil lawsuit led Island County Sheriff Mark Brown to implement numerous changes at the jail.
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