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Las Vegas police ID inmate who claimed to have Ebola

The Clark County Detention Center inmate who claimed he had Ebola over the weekend morning was identified Tuesday by Las Vegas police.

David Lee, 29, was booked into CCDC Saturday night and told staff the next morning that he had recently returned from an African country and that he was experiencing symptoms of Ebola.

The inmate was taken to University Medical Center where he tested negative for the virus, police said in a Tuesday release. Police also found that the inmate had not traveled to West Africa, where Ebola has killed more than 4,500 this year, and has never left the country.

Before the inmate was tested, CCDC staff separated him from other inmates, wore protective gear and decontaminated the areas he had contacted.

Lee had outstanding bench warrants from Lincoln County for charges of burglary, destruction of property and petit larceny. He now faces an additional misdemeanor charge for providing a false statement to a police officer.

Lee is no longer listed in the CCDC inmate logs.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber.

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