A 56 Year-Old Dies After 8 Days in Bell County Jail
After 56-year-old Thomas Rolston was booked into Bell County Jail on October 12, 2023, he only lived another week. Among the observations made about Mr. Rolston during intake was that he exhibited both mental health and medical problems. On October 19, 2023, Mr. Rolston died after being transported by ambulance to Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. The address of Bell County Jail where Mr. Rolston was housed is 1201 Huey Drive in Belton, Texas 76513. The bed capacity at this facility is 658 plus 24 beds in the infirmary.
Another Bell County Jail Death 3 Months Ago
Tyler Thomas Ross was 23 years old when he was incarcerated in Bell County Jail at 2405 S. Loop 121 in Belton, Texas 76513. He went through intake at about 7:50 p.m. on July 3, 2023. Tragically, within minutes, he was found hanging in the temporary holding cell where he had been placed. Lifesaving measures began immediately, and he was transported by ambulance to Baylor Scott and White, where he was admitted as a patient. Eight days later, on July 11, 2023, Mr. Ross was pronounced deceased by Justice of the Peace Larry Wilkey. An autopsy was ordered, and the results are still pending at this time.
An alarming percentage of jail suicides occur within the first 24 hours of incarceration. Suicide is the number one cause of death in county and municipal jails. Detainees also die from medical situations, after which families sometimes claim that their loved one was denied medical care. When other detainees died in Bell County Jail in recent years, what were the causes?
Learn more in this continuing series.
One of this website’s purposes is to provide helpful resources to benefit Texas county and municipal jail detainees and their families. Implying that an individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing is never intended.
–Guest Contributor