June 28--An Ambler man jailed for firing a rifle at a village police officer apparently committed suicide Thursday while in custody, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers in Kotzebue, the nearest city to the northwest Alaska village, got a report at 3:30 a.m. Thursday that William Greist Jr. had fired a high-powered rifle at the Ambler police officer, troopers said. Greist, 27, was taken to jail.
At some point while Greist was at the jail, someone checked on him and found the man dead, according to a trooper dispatch posted online late Thursday. It was unclear from the dispatch how long Greist was in the cell or how he died. Neither the troopers in Kotzebue nor a troopers representative in Anchorage were available for comment.
Greist was facing charges of attempted murder of a police officer, weapons misconduct and several counts of assault, troopers said.
His body will be flown to Anchorage for an autopsy, and troopers continue to investigate the incident, according to the dispatch.
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Reach Casey Grove at [email protected] or 257-4589.
Copyright 2012 - Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
