According to the custodial death report (CDR), the manner of death of Johnny Gutierrez on January 27, 2023, was suicide. While autopsy results are yet pending, the medical cause of death of the 39-year-old is shown as asphyxia by hanging. Mr. Gutierrez had been booked into the Cameron County Jail in Brownsville, Texas, on January 8, 2023, on a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.

A Deceased Inmate Isn’t Noticed for Over 18 Hours Continued

The comprehensive investigation into this inmate’s death in a county jail outside Texas reveals further details about the events surrounding his death by suicide.

Behaviors of the decedent in the days leading up to his April 14, 2022, death were documented. Between the 6^th and 10^th of April, his behavior was erratic. He would block the cameras in his cell and make threats against the dispatcher, according to claims.

Allegedly, on April 13, an undersheriff well acquainted with the inmate informed the prisoner that he was to be moved to a state penitentiary where he knew the inmate did not want to go. That night at about 8 PM, according to claims, the inmate is seen on video putting up a white sheet, which caused part of the cell to be hidden from the camera’s view.

The policy at the jail is that if a prisoner hangs a bed sheet, the dispatcher is required to make contact with the inmate to inform them to remove the sheet. If the inmate refuses, a deputy should be called. In this case, claims allege that the lone dispatcher on shift at the time took no action.

At about 10:20 PM, the video records show that the inmate is writing something that turned out to be a suicide note. At 11 pm, the inmate is seen going into the shower area, which was behind the sheet, and that’s when he hanged himself.

Also, learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this five-part series.

Providing helpful resources for Texas inmates detained in county and municipal jails is the purpose of this website. Making accusations against persons or institutions is never intended.

–Guest Contributor