MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – A man who was accused of shooting at park rangers and police officers in Everglades National Park earlier this year has died in federal custody.
Drew Sikes, 37, was arrested in March on charges of assaulting federal officers with a deadly weapon. The Bureau of Prisons website said he died June 16, but does not list a cause of death, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
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Sikes’ death is considered suspicious and is being investigated by the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, and other authorities, according to the Herald.
No additional details about his death or the investigation were available.
Inmates detained at the Federal Detention Center near downtown Miami are typically awaiting trials or, after their convictions, are being transferred to a federal prison facility.
Sikes was taken into custody on March 28 after surrendering to authorities. A federal complaint said he urged park rangers and police officers to kill him during tense negotiations.
“I want you guys to kill me,” Sikes, who was carrying an AK-47, shouted at officers before he was arrested.
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A judge found him to be a danger to the community and ordered him detained until his trial.
He faced a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and possibly up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The incident began earlier in March when Sikes was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge of aggravated assault with a firearm on his wife, according to court records. A Miami-Dade judge released him but ordered him to stay away from his wife.
But Sikes held her hostage for four days. She was finally able to get away and called park rangers for help. They, along with Miami-Dade police officers, began searching for Sikes. They used a loudspeaker to communicate with him in a wooded area where he was hiding.
At one point they heard gunfire and felt rounds traveling over their heads, the complaint said. Finally, after an hour of negotiations, Sikes came out of the woods and was arrested.
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