Sheriff: Man Tried To Swallow Cyanide In Courtroom

CHEBOYGAN (AP) - Police say a man tried to swallow cyanide in court after being sentenced for polluting a Lake Huron bay.

Scotland Stivers of Sault Ste. Marie was given a 30-day jail term and fined this week in Cheboygan County Circuit Court.

He pleaded no contest last year after illegally mooring three old tugboats on Duncan Bay. One later sank and two ran aground during storms, causing oil to wash onto the beach at Cheboygan State Park.

Sheriff Dale Clarmont says after the Wednesday sentencing, Stivers tried to swallow cyanide from a vial he'd brought into the courtroom. Deputies grabbed the container. Clarmont says Stivers later told him he was attempting suicide.

Clarmont said Friday the 51-year-old Stivers apparently ingested little if any of the cyanide but was under hospital observation.

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