On May 8, 2023, the Travis County Sheriff’s Department filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Andres Alberto Villarreal-Salguero. Mr. Villarreal-Salguero died in the jail on September 27, 2022. The CDR was supposed to have been filed within 30 days of his death, but it was filed eight months after the death of Mr. Villarreal-Salguero. The Travis County Sheriff’s Department is located at 5555 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX 78751.

Jim Hogg County Jail is Cited for Noncompliance in a January 2022 Jail Inspection Report

Rule §273.5~Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan. Jim Hogg County Jail was allegedly noncompliant with Rule §273.5(a)(1)~Training. Provisions for staff training (including frequency and duration) on the procedures for recognition, supervision, documentation, and handling of inmates who are mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal. Supplemental training should be provided to those staff members responsible for intake screening.

• Interviews with the Jim Hogg County Jail staff revealed that they had not received Suicide Prevention Training in the last 12 months in accordance with the approved Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Operational Plan.

Suicide Prevention Training

Training of jail staff members is a crucial element of suicide prevention. The U.S. Marshals Service provides the following information about a 32-hour suicide prevention training for correctional facility staff:

• Participants in the training program should be able to recognize whether the characteristics of a correctional facility are known to foster suicide.
• Trainees should be able to list signs and symptoms of an inmate who may be suicidal, such as depression.
• Become familiar with the times when an inmate is an increased suicidal risk, such as the first 24 hours of incarceration.
• Recognize the events that are known to trigger a possible suicide, such as a distressing phone call.
• Be prepared with knowledge about how to respond to an actively suicidal inmate.
• Come to an understanding of the importance of early suicide intervention.

The goal of providing information on this website is to help Texas inmates who are now or have previously been prisoners in county or municipal jails in the state. Making allegations that entities or persons have been involved in wrongdoing is never an intention.

–Guest Contributor