Inmate found dead in Anoka jail ID'd as suspect from April standoff

Officials have identified the inmate found dead in the Anoka County Jail as a Big Lake man accused of holding a woman hostage during a standoff with police in Anoka earlier this year.

Richard Shane Daily II, 36, was found unresponsive in his jail cell a little after 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and pronounced dead there, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office said in an initial news release. The identity was confirmed Tuesday by the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating Daily's death.

"The case is under investigation; the cause and manner of his death are pending the results of toxicology tests," the office said in a statement Tuesday.

Responding medical staff included staff from Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc. — which Anoka County contracts as a medical provider — and Allina Health's emergency medical services.

Daily's attorney did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint, Daily robbed the Walmart on Ball Road NE. in Blaine on April 4, allegedly pointing a handgun at a Walmart employee as he left with stolen goods, charges say.

Officers identified Daily as the suspect and the next day tracked him to a car wash on the 600 block of East River Road in Anoka. He was in a vehicle along with a woman he was in a relationship with, Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany said at the time.

Daily rammed several police vehicles in the parking lot but remained trapped at the scene, Podany said. It turned into an hours-long hostage situation with the woman held in the vehicle.

Officers arrested Daily around 10:20 p.m. Podany said it was a "peaceful surrender" after long negotiations with Blaine and Anoka police and the Anoka County Sheriff's Office SWAT team.

Two other Anoka County inmates died in custody this past summer. On July 21, Cristian Rivera-Coba, 22, died after he "became unresponsive" when being attended to by a detention deputy and medical staff with Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc., Anoka County Sheriff's Office Community Relations Coordinator Tierney Peters said at the time.

Rivera-Coba's family held a protest at the jail Aug. 10 to demand answers about what led to his death. An investigation continues.

In another case, an Aug. 9 search warrant revealed the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office would investigate the death of Miles Worner Jackson, a 24-year-old who died days after being admitted to the Anoka County Jail.

According to court documents, Jackson said he was suffering withdrawal symptoms in jail from previously snorting fentanyl powder. Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc. staff visited Jackson three times for withdrawal symptoms that included cramps, vomiting and difficulty breathing. Jackson was found without a pulse in his cell on July 2.

Star Tribune staff writers Kyeland Jackson and Tim Harlow contributed to this report.