Officials in LaPorte County are still looking into the cause of a July 4th fire in a jail cell that sent one inmate to the hospital and forced the temporary evacuation of about 40 others. The fire started just before 1 p.m. in a cell occupied by Marzano R. Shelly, 35, of Michigan City. He’s jailed pending trial on charges of murder, robbery, possession of a firearm by a violent felon and battery by bodily waste. Shelly was alone in the cell, according to “The Times,” and is believed to have tried to burn his mattress. It smoked but did not fully ignite. Matches and lighters are banned from the jail, so it’s unclear how Shelly may have started the fire. The cell is located in an area of the jail reserved for inmates with disciplinary problems. The other nearby inmates were shifted to another part of the jail for a few hours.
