On September 7, 2022, Juan Carlos Cantu was arrested and booked into Nueces County Jail. He was discovered unresponsive on the floor of his cell on September 14, 2022, and died the same day. The address of the Nueces County Jail is 600 Elizabeth in Corpus Christi, TX 78413.

Nueces County Jail is Cited for Non-Compliance with Jail Standards in June 2022

In a June 29, 2022, Notice of Non-Compliance, Nueces County Jail in Corpus Christi, Texas was cited for five alleged violations of minimum jail standards. Under Rule §259.138(a)-Holding Cells, Texas county jails are required to provide one or more holding cells to hold inmates pending discharge, court appearance, booking, identification, or other reason for temporary housing. Inmates shall be held for 48 hours maximum, and the cell must include the specified features.

• It was determined on the date of inspection that multiple inmates were held in holding cells for longer than 48 hours.

Rule §259.138(a)-Holding Cells provides construction requirements of holding cells. Each holding cell must be built to house between 1 and 24 inmates, and the capacity must be determined by the amount of seating provided and posted on the cell’s exterior.

• In multiple holding cells, more inmates were confined than the designated capacity posted outside the cell door. The Nueces Jail Administration said that they had been experiencing overpopulation issues from time to time since May 22 but never communicated this with their inspector or anyone at the Texas Commission of Jail Standards (TCJS) until the inspector arrived on site for the annual inspection.

Learn more in this continuing series.

This website provides information that can be of benefit to inmates in Texas city and county jails. On this site, there is never an intention to accuse any person or institution of engaging in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor