Dvonte Marquese Valentine Dies After Smith County, Texas Jail Incarceration

The Smith County Sheriff’s Office, in Tyler, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Dvonte Marquese Valentine. Mr. Valentine was only 24 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On November 16th 2022 Inmate Dvonte Valentine was booked into the Smith County Jail for one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. On November 28th 2022 at approximately 0440 hours, Inmate Valentine fell off the toilet suffering a injury from the fall. The pod officer called a code blue (medical emergency) and Inmate Valentine was checked on by medical personnel. Medical personnel determined that Valentine needed to be transported to the emergency room for further treatment. Inmate Valentine was determined by the doctors at Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler, Texas to have organ failure. Later that day Jail administrative staff were able to obtain a PR bond for inmate Valentine from the Honarable Judge Kerry Russell, so he could spend time with his family in the ICU unit. It was advised at approximately 7:35 pm on 12-4-22 that inmate Valentine had died in the hospital. Inmate Valentines family decided to take him off life support, due to the effects of his injury being irreversible.”

Our law firm has handled and is handling a number of jail death cases across Texas. However, the cause of Mr. Valentine’s injury, being unusual at best, seems suspect. Even so, we make no allegation that the report is incorrect.

The United States Constitution requires jails and jailers to provide reasonable medical care to inmates. If an inmate has serious medical conditions, needs life-saving medication, or demonstrates a need for healthcare, and jailers and/or medical personnel working in a jail fail to provide needed healthcare, and the person dies as a result, then certain family members may be able to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.