POCATELLO — Authorities are investigating a suspected overdose death at the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.
Bannock County Sheriff’s Office detention deputies during morning safety checks on Thursday discovered 35-year-old inmate William Carringer, of Pocatello, unresponsive, according to Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu.
The deputies immediately tried unsuccessfully to revive Carringer via CPR and other lifesaving measures before contacting emergency medical services, said Manu, adding that paramedics responded and declared Carringer dead Thursday morning. Bannock County Coroner Torey Danner responded to the jail and took possession of the body for an autopsy, Manu said.
It is believed Carringer died of an overdose with no obvious signs of foul play or other evidence collected at the scene to suggest otherwise, Manu said. The sheriff said it’s likely an inmate smuggled illegal narcotics into the jail.
Carringer’s next of kin has been notified.
Both an internal Bannock County Sheriff’s Office investigation as well as a separate Tri-County Sheriff’s Office investigation involving the Madison and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices have been launched into the incident, Manu said.
An autopsy will soon be conducted and Carringer’s official cause and manner of death cannot be made certain until the autopsy and accompanying toxicology report are complete, Manu said.
Court records show Carringer had been incarcerated at the jail since January stemming from a 2023 felony drug possession case and that he had been released and arrested again at least twice since being initially charged. He was set to attend a sentencing hearing at the Bannock County Courthouse on Dec. 1.
This is the first inmate death at the Bannock County Jail, located at 5800 S. Fifth Ave. in Pocatello, since a Montana man died by suicide while incarcerated in 2019, Manu said.