Hawaii inmate dies after apparent assault at Arizona prison

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Law enforcement and state prisons officials are investigating the death of a 46-year-old Hawaii inmate at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona.

State prison officials said 46-year-old Anton Myklebust was found unresponsive in his cell “with injuries” about 5:51 p.m. on May 4. Staff administered first aid until EMS arrived and took over.

He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Officials said Myklebust’s injuries were consistent with an assault.

Scores of Hawaii inmates are housed at Saguaro Correctional Center because of overcrowding at prisons in the state. Myklebust was serving time at the Arizona prison for unlawful methamphetamine trafficking and kidnapping. He started his sentence in 2007.

Myklebust was denied parole in August 2023.

An autopsy will be performed to determine his exact cause of death.

“This tragic event will be thoroughly investigated, and whomever is found responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Hawaii prisons Director Tommy Johnson.

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