53-Year-Old Dallas County Jail Detainee Leticia Chapa Rocha Dies

Leticia Chapa Rocha was booked into Dallas County Jail Lew Sterrett Justice Center on January 6, 2024. She died in the custody of the jail on May 12, 2024. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Ms. Rocha on May 29, 2024, and it indicates that the cause of Ms. Rocha’s death is unknown and pending the results of an autopsy. The address of the Dallas County Jail is 5200 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75235. The jail has a bed capacity of 7,000.

Detainee Leticia Rocha Was Suicidal During Intake at Dallas County Jail

At the time of Ms. Rocha’s entry into the jail, according to the CDR, she made suicidal statements and exhibited mental health problems. Both of those factors should have placed Ms. Rocha on suicide watch. She was housed in a multiple-occupancy cell, which isn’t enough information to determine whether there were suicide-prevention protocols in place.

The day before her death, detention service personnel observed Ms. Rocha possibly having a seizure at 2:30 PM. Physician’s Assistant (PA) D. Ho and T. Sowe, a registered nurse (RN), evaluated Ms. Rocha and the PA determined that further medical care was needed. At approximately 3:40 PM, she was transported by ambulance to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased at 1:42 PM on May 12.

Dallas County Jail Fails to Supervise Suicidal Inmates Properly

In 2022, Dallas County Jail was cited by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) twice for breaches of supervision. Supervision is a very important aspect of suicide prevention, and it is also a factor that has a direct impact on the overall safety of inmates. The following is information from the notes about noncompliance with observation requirements:

Following a February 14 through February 18, 2022, jail inspection, video documentation was reviewed, and it revealed that observation logs of suicidal/aggressive detainees were incorrectly documented. It is standard operating procedure at Dallas County Jail for observations to occur every 15 minutes for each inmate designated to be on suicide prevention status.
After a September 6, 2022, special jail inspection, the Dallas County Jail was cited for noncompliance with a rule on the supervision of inmates. The TCJS inspector stated that after a custodial death, a video was submitted. The video revealed that observation rounds were not conducted in accordance with minimum jail standards.

A Law Office Devoted to Helping Jail Inmates and Their Families

At the Law Offices of Dean Malone, there has been a focus on jail neglect, abuse, and suicide cases for many years. We have a team that handles custodial death cases for the families of loved ones who died in a county or municipal jail possibly because of neglect. In fact, we are currently litigating jail death cases against Dallas County. And when former jail detainees in Texas have suffered life-altering injuries due to abuse or jail neglect, we also encourage them to schedule a free case review.

We are available 24/7 via phone call, text, and our online form. If you are a victim of jail abuse or if a family member has died while incarcerated in a local jail and you suspect it was due to neglect, contact us today.

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