Two Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies and a corporal were indicted Wednesday on criminally negligent homicide charges in connection with the death last year of a 59-year-old Portland man jailed on drug allegations.

Michael Christopher Durkan, 53, Cory Lucinda Skidgel, 42, and Anthony Joseph Hansen, 33, each were charged with a single count of the felony, which carries up to five years in prison.

They are accused in the death of James Eugene Wippel. Wippel died April 26, 2017, while in custody at the county jail in Madras.

Sheriff Jim Adkins on Thursday called Wippel's death "tragic" and those involved "good and faithful" deputies.

"I’m bothered that it happened at my facility, with so many professionals involved," Adkins said.

Jefferson County District Attorney Steven Leriche declined to comment on how the inmate died, but acknowledged the extraordinary allegations involving three members of local law enforcement in a small rural community.

"It's a sad event because you definitely know everyone that is involved," Leriche said. "But the death of an inmate is likewise a sad and serious event."

The employees are on paid leave and the case is under internal review, the sheriff said. Hansen and Durkan were hired in 2015. Skidgel was hired in February 2017.

Durkan and Skidgel are deputies; Hansen is a corporal. Durkan, reached by phone, declined to comment. Skidgel and Hansen could not be reached.

Wippel had been arrested April 24 by Warm Springs police on accusations of heroin possession and delivery and methamphetamine possession. He was taken to the Jefferson County Jail without incident, the sheriff said at the time.

Two days later, Wippel said he wasn't feeling well and was seen by the nursing staff, according to Adkins' initial statement. An ambulance was called at some point, but the man died before leaving the jail.

Adkins at the time did not say what steps his staff took to address Wippel’s medical problems or how long they waited to call for an ambulance.

Leriche asked the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office to review and handle the case, which was presented to a grand jury this month. It’s typical for an agency to ask for an outside review to avoid a conflict of interest.

The indictment was filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court early Thursday. The jail employees will be arraigned at 2 p.m. April 19.

According to court records, Wippel was in a car in the parking lot of Indian Head Casino, where Officer Scott Lane saw him smoking methamphetamine in a large glass pipe. He was arrested and told an officer he had heroin in his backpack. Jail staff found the drugs along with more than $4,400 cash, records show.

Wippel has an extensive criminal history dating to 1987 that includes drug and property crimes, court records indicate.

The jail employs 22 corrections staff and five part-time nurses, according to the Sheriff’s Office website. The site says three to four deputies are on duty at a time.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184

@noellecrombie