Guards to be disciplined over accidentally locking man in cell

ELKHART (The Republic) - Guards at a northern Indiana jail face disciplinary action and will receive additional training after a man was accidentally trapped inside a cell for 12 hours.

Elkhart County Sheriff Mike Books says officers and supervisors on the jail's first and second shifts "failed to account" for 40-year-old Scott Roberts and that their actions were unacceptable.

The department did not say what discipline staff members faced.

Roberts says he was doing community service work on Saturday when a mop bucket propping open a cell door spilled and the door slammed shut. He wasn't released until after family members arrived at the jail looking for him about 10:30 p.m.

Thanks to the Columbus Republic for this story.