The custodial death report about Reyes Vargas that was filed by the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Department provides few details in the summary of how his death occurred. Mr. Vargas was incarcerated in the Matagorda County Jail in Bay City, Texas, and had been placed in a single cell in F Tank. At approximately 4:00 PM on August 26, 2023, he was discovered in his cell hanging from his neck by a bed sheet. Jailers cut Mr. Vargas down and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Matagorda County Jail was cited for noncompliance under Rule §265-Admission.

A special jail inspection was conducted in September 2022, by Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) Inspectors. This appears to be the follow-up inspection related to the tragic death of detainee Markis Levar Sims.

• After a custodial death occurred, a TCJS inspector reviewed the records of Matagorda County Jail. A deficiency was noted by the inspector after the review of a video that was submitted. Scrutiny of written documentation and video records showed that the observation rounds were not conducted as required. Minimum jail standards mandate that face-to-face observations must be conducted every 30 minutes or every 60 minutes, depending on whether those housed in the cells are in the general population or otherwise.
• The corrective plan for this violation must include training for jail staff about properly conducting and documenting face-to-face observations of detainees according to minimum jail standards.

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series.

One goal of this website is to provide county and municipal jail detainees in Texas with information that could be of benefit to them. There is never an intention on this site to make implications against institutions or individuals.

–Guest Contributor