Edgar Villatoro-Alvarez Dies After Being in Tarrant County, Texas Jail

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department, in Fort Worth, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Edgar Villatoro-Alvarez. Mr. Villatoro-Alvarez was only 40 years old at the time of his death after being in the Tarrant County jail. 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:

“Notification of the in-custody death of Edgar Villatoro-Alvarez (W/M DOB XX/XX/1981 TCSO CID#0974743 TX DL #02262733 SS# XXX-XX-XXXX) on Friday, February 25, 2022 at 10:46 am. Villatoro-Alvarez was booked into custody at the Tarrant County Jail on December 14, 2021 at 4:21 pm for Driving While Intoxicated, Criminal Mischief $100-$750, Harassment of Public Servant, and Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle. All charges originated with the Hurst Police Department. A medical emergency was called for Villatoro-Alvarez by the pod officer (55A) on Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 3:01 pm. Medstar Ambulance and the Fort Worth Fire Department arrived at 3:12 pm. Villatoro-Alvarez was transported to the John Peter Smith Hospital (JPSH) Emergency Room (ER) by Medstar Ambulance Service at 3:31 pm. Dr. Steven Davis pronounced Villatoro-Alvarez deceased at 10:46 am on Friday, February 25, 2022 at JPSH. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office (TCME) was notified, took custody of the deceased, and will be conducting an autopsy (TCME #22-04409). Detective R. Garcia is the primary detective for the internal investigation (TCSO #2022-02389). The Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) Major Case Unit (MCU), supervised by Sergeant J. Phillips, will conduct the external investigation.”

The report does not provide any information regarding the medical emergency leading to Mr. Villatoro-Alvarez’s death, whether he had been on periodic observation, and, if he had been on periodic observation, what was observed before learning that Mr. Villatoro-Alvarez needed emergency medical treatment. The report does indicate that Mr. Villatoro-Alvarez exhibited mental health problems but did not make any suicidal statements. This is yet another death in a number of recent deaths arising from incarceration in the Tarrant County jail.

The Tarrant County jail has had significant issues of-late. It has been found to be non-compliant with Texas Commission on Jail Standards minimum standards, and there have been several deaths in just the last few years. The Tarrant County jail, as is true with all jails in Texas, is obligated pursuant to the United States Constitution to provide reasonable medical care and mental health care to inmates. This makes sense, because inmates have no control over when and how they eat, when and how they receive medical care, and when and how they might receive mental health care. If jailers are deliberately indifferent to a person’s medical and/or mental health needs, and the person dies as a result, then those jailers could be liable to certain surviving family members in the lawsuit. Likewise, if a jail’s policies, practices, and/or customs cause such a death, the county running the jail could likewise be liable to certain surviving family members.

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.