Inmate Dies in Winkler County Jail in Kermit, Texas

Valorin Michele Rodriguez, 42 years of age at the time, passed away on February 5, 2018 while being held in the Winkler County Sheriff’s Department Jail in Kermit, Texas.  Information in this post was obtained from a custodial death report filed by the Winkler County Sheriff’s Department.  We make no allegation of any wrongdoing but are instead simply providing information.

Ms. Rodriguez was allegedly serving a 10-day sentence.  The report does not indicate that Ms. Rodriguez had any pre-existing medical or mental health issues.  The report indicates that Ms. Rodriguez was found at approximately 10:35 p.m. on October 5, 2018 in a physical state which indicated that there was clearly something wrong.  Ms. Rodriguez ultimately was found unconscious, and she later passed away.  The report indicates nothing about what if anything jailers had observed in Ms. Rodriguez prior to this incident, and/or what substances (if any) she might have been given that could have caused her death.

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.