Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
GILLETTE — Two separate investigations into deaths that have happened in Campbell County Sheriff’s Office custody have been forwarded to special prosecutors in neighboring counties to review for potential charges.
At their regular meeting this week, Campbell County Commissioners approved sending the cases out of county to avoid potential conflicts of interest with the Campbell County Attorney’s Office.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation report on the death of Kenneth R. Durrah, who died while he was an inmate in the Campbell County Detention Center in the early hours of Dec. 1, 2022, has been sent to Weston County Attorney Michael Stulken for review.
Johnson County Attorney Tucker Ruby has been tabbed with reviewing the Gillette Police Department investigation into the more recent death of Dennis Green, who died by suicide while in a holding cell inside the Campbell County Courthouse in September.
“Both cases are associated with entities that closely work with the Campbell County Attorney’s Office,” said Kyle Ferris, deputy county attorney, to commissioners last week. “Due to the profile and nature of them, it’s best that the appearance of impropriety be [avoided] and having a neutral third-party prosecutor take a look at both of them will be advantageous.”
Once the cases are received, special prosecutors can decide whether to seek criminal charges. If they determine not to pursue charges, the cases may return to the investigating agency for further investigation or to close the case.
Durrah investigation
It’s been more than a year since Durrah died in custody, and his family has sought closure and questioned the long length of time it’s taken for the investigation to conclude, Durrah’s brother Joshua told the News Record in November.
It’s unclear when the Campbell County Attorney’s Office received the Wyoming DCI report on Durrah’s death. Although both investigations have been advanced to special prosecutors at the same time, Durrah’s death happened more than nine months before Green’s.
Durrah was pronounced dead at Campbell County Health at 3:52 a.m. the morning of Dec. 1, 2022, after circumstances that began in the jail and have not been clarified since the ongoing investigation began.
Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem’s report, prepared Jan. 8, said Durrah’s death was consistent with “excited delirium” due to a methamphetamine overdose, based on a forensic pathologist’s finding during the autopsy. The report states that toxicology tests at the time found meth in Durrah’s system.
Durrah was arrested Nov. 22, 2022, following a standoff with Gillette police that lasted more than two hours. He was charged with felony counts of felon in possession of a firearm, cocaine possession and marijuana possession, according to court documents.
Durrah died while an inmate a little more than a week after his arrest.
The details of what happened inside the jail leading up to his death have not been released publicly.
Durrah’s family questioned how the meth he had in his system got into the jail. Durrah had a significant amount of cocaine in the house and potentially in his system at the time of his arrest, but there was no indication from court records that he had meth at that time.
Green investigation
Green, of Gillette, died after attempting suicide while in a holding cell in the county courthouse after a court hearing the morning of Sept. 21.
He was found inside the holding cell within “a matter of minutes,” Sheriff Scott Matheny told the News Record in October, and said the detention officers saw no signs that Green may hurt himself.
From the holding cell, Green was taken to Campbell County Health and later transferred to a hospital in Casper, where he was declared dead. His body was autopsied in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem said the cause of Green’s death was asphyxiation due to partially suspended hanging.
The manner of Green’s death was ruled a suicide, and no evidence of foul play was detected at either of Green’s hospital visits or during the autopsy, Wallem said.
Green’s wife, Tara Green, told a WyoFile reporter who first broke the story that she called the jail to ask that her husband be placed on suicide watch, and she questioned why Gillette police, and not Wyoming DCI, was investigating the incident.
