The Smith County Sheriff’s Office, under the directorship of Sheriff Larry R. Smith, filed a custodial death report about 42-year-old Joshua Cody Fouse on January 5, 2023. Mr. Fouse was incarcerated in the Tyler, Texas, jail for only four days when he died on December 7, 2022. His cause of death is currently unknown.

Torry Lamont Newman Dies at Smith County Jail

Forty-six-year-old Torry Lamont Newman was booked into Smith County Jail on January 27, 2022. He was pronounced deceased 22 days later, on February 18. Per the original custodial death report (CDR), which was reported to the Office of Attorney General by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on March 11, 2022, his cause of death is unknown. Because an updated version of the original CDR seems not to have been filed, Mr. Newman’s cause of death appears to still be pending an autopsy report.

The CDR shows that Mr. Newman exhibited mental health problems when he was going through intake proceedings. He was housed in a detox cell. In the summary of how Mr. Newman’s death occurred, he was observed to be unresponsive in his cell at about 5:11 AM on the morning of his death. An officer entered his cell and nurses were summoned. A “Code Blue” was called over the radio, and nursing staff began applying chest compressions. Attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation were continued by EMS a short time later. At 5:56 AM, life-saving measures ceased and Mr. Newman was declared deceased.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

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