EPHRATA — The Washington Attorney General's Office has declined to file criminal charges in connection with the death of Richard Lambert, a Moses Lake man who died while incarcerated at the Grant County Jail in December 2024.

The decision concludes the state's criminal review of the case, which was referred to the Attorney General's Office in January 2025 due to potential conflicts of interest for local prosecutors.

"The AGO's Criminal Justice Division informed the Grant County prosecutor that our office would decline to file criminal charges," Deputy Communications Director Mike Faulk wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald Tuesday.

According to Faulk, prosecutors reviewed whether sufficient evidence existed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had occurred in relation to Lambert's death.

In a letter to Grant County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Guernsey and Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete, Attorney General Nick Brown said the case was reviewed under state charging standards requiring sufficient admissible evidence to justify a conviction when considering foreseeable defenses. Guernsey was contacted for comment but did not respond prior to press time. 

"After thorough and careful review of the evidence under this standard, the Attorney General declines to file criminal charges in this matter," Brown wrote.

Brown said his review included investigative reports, witness statements, body camera recordings, video evidence and other materials submitted by investigators. The Attorney General's Office also met in person with members of the investigative team in April.

Lambert, 31, was found unresponsive in his bunk at the Grant County Jail on Dec. 31, 2024, after corrections deputies noticed he had not reported for breakfast. Emergency responders attempted to assist him, but he was later pronounced dead.

The case was investigated by the Central Basin Investigative Team, a multi-agency task force that included investigators from the Ephrata, Ellensburg and Quincy police departments, the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office and the Washington State Patrol, along with two community representatives.

A February update from CBIT said the Grant County Coroner's Office determined Lambert died from sepsis due to peritonitis. His death was ruled an accident stemming from injuries sustained in a bicycle crash that investigators determined occurred two days before his arrest.

Investigators also reported they found no evidence Lambert was subjected to force during his arrest or assaulted while housed at the jail.

Grant County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said the agency was informed Tuesday morning of the Attorney General's decision.

"We're grateful for the work done by investigators from the Central Basin Investigative Team and the review conducted by the Washington State Attorney General's Office," Foreman said.

While the criminal review has ended, Foreman said the matter is not yet fully closed.

He said the Grant County Sheriff's Office previously asked the Benton County Sheriff's Office to conduct an independent administrative investigation into the incident. That review, which examines whether jail policies or procedures were followed, can now move forward.

"The administrative investigation occurs after the criminal investigation," Foreman said.

There is currently no deadline for completion of the administrative review.

"The timeline depends on the length of the investigation," Foreman said. "Law enforcement agencies work to reach the conclusion of investigations as quickly as possible without compromising any portion of the investigation."

Once the review is completed, the sheriff's office intends to release its findings to the public, he said.

Foreman said he hopes the conclusion of the state's criminal review helps the public better understand the incident.

"We, along with the public, have been anxious to receive the Attorney General's review conclusion," he said. "We're hoping that this can help bring understanding to what happened."

He added that the sheriff's office remains committed to making improvements if either review identifies changes that should be made.

"Anything that's found during either of these investigations that requires change, the Grant County Sheriff's Office will apply those changes to create the safest environment for people in custody at the Grant County Jail," Foreman said.