OGDEN, Utah, May 26 (UPI) — A man awaiting trial in Utah in the death of a police officer during a January 2012 drug raid has died in his cell by hanging, sheriffs said Friday.
Matthew David Stewart, 39, had a courtroom defeat the day before, when Judge Noel Hyde of Utah’s 2nd District Court rejected his lawyers’ contention a police officer lied about the “knock-and-announce” warrant that led to the raid on his home, in which an Ogden, Utah, police officer was killed and five others wounded, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.
“I think (Wednesday’s) hearing hit him hard. I just think he couldn’t bear it anymore,” said Erma Stewart, Stewart’s sister-in-law, after her family was informed of his death by Weber County, Utah, sheriffs.
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