A Texarkana man found dead in a Texas jail cell July 22 was being held there after a July 19 arrest on a misdemeanor assault charge, according to an arrest report released Tuesday afternoon.
The Texarkana Police Department announced last week that Michael Sabbie, 35, of Texarkana was found unresponsive by jailers in his cell at the Bi-State jail in Texarkana, Texas, on July 22.
Medical personnel responded, and Sabbie was pronounced dead.
Sabbie's body was taken to the state Crime Laboratory for an autopsy.
The FBI's Little Rock field office has taken over Sabbie's death investigation at the request of Police Chief Robert Harrison, police spokesman Cpl. Kristi Bennett said last week in a news release.
"A review of the initial death investigation by Texarkana Police Department detectives warrants an outside investigation," the release said.
On Wednesday, Bennett directed further questions to the FBI.
Debra Green, a spokesman for the FBI's Little Rock field office, declined to comment on the case when contacted Wednesday.
A Texarkana Police Department arrest report states that Sabbie was arrested at 3:20 p.m. July 19 and charged with third-degree assault on a family or household member.
An officer had responded at 3:08 p.m. to a fast-food restaurant at 1700 N. Stateline Ave. for a disturbance call.
Teresa Sabbie, 30, told the officer that she had been in an argument minutes earlier over money with her husband of seven years, Michael Sabbie, at a gas station at 1512 N. Stateline Ave., police reported.
Teresa Sabbie told the officer that Michael Sabbie threatened her verbally and "put her in fear of imminent physical injury," according to the report. Teresa Sabbie said her husband had gotten out of the car and started walking north on Laurel Street.
Another Texarkana Police Department officer found Michael Sabbie at 3:18 p.m. in the 2300 block of Laurel Street, police said.
Michael Sabbie denied threatening his wife, but he was arrested out of fear of "future acts of domestic violence," police reported.
Michael Sabbie was then taken to the Bi-State jail, which is managed by LaSalle Southwest Corrections, the Texas-based affiliate of a private corrections company based in Louisiana. The arresting officer noted that Sabbie was transported "without incident."
Michael Sabbie appeared in Texarkana District Court on July 21 and pleaded innocent to the assault charge, according to a court clerk. His bail was set at $2,500.
Sabbie, who was alone in his cell, was found unresponsive about 6:30 a.m. July 22, police said.
State Desk on 07/30/2015