Death of Arrestee Under Investigation

March 13, 2007:
The Lakewood Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office are investigating the death of a man who was arrested in Lakewood late Sunday evening.

29-year-old Joshua Giebel was stopped for several traffic violations while operating a motorcycle in the area of Alameda Avenue & Depew Street at about 11pm, and was subsequently arrested for possession of suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Giebel was transported to the Lakewood Police Department for booking, and was then transferred to the Jefferson County Jail, arriving at about 3am Monday. During processing at the jail, Giebel lost consciousness and was transported to a local hospital, where he died at approximately 4:30am.

While investigating the time that Giebel had been at the Lakewood Police Department, a second arrestee who had been in the holding cell with Giebel told Lakewood agents he saw Giebel work his arm around a partition, retrieve a portion of the suspected methamphetamine from an adjacent area and swallow it.

An official cause of death has not been determined and both law enforcement agencies will rely on the Jefferson County Coroner's office to establish one.