Inmate charged with flooding jail

An Ellensburg man in federal prison for a gun conviction has been charged with flooding the Spokane County Jail last summer.

William Dean Bacon, 41, is accused of stuffing jumpsuits, blankets, sheets, towels, socks “and any other item he could fit into his cell’s toilet” in August, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.

Bacon is charged with felony second-degree malicious mischief.

Bacon repeatedly flushed the plugged toilet, flooding his cell and the sheriff’s offices located directly below, officials allege.

Jail employees shut off water to that area of the jail, and Roto Rooter was called in to unclog the pipes. Pumping and cleanup costs totaled more than $2,000, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Bacon was sentenced Aug. 6 to 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He’s since been transferred to a federal prison in Sheridan, Ore.

Bacon has 12 felony convictions in Washington, including convictions in 1993 for rape, kidnapping and burglary, according to federal court documents.