Juan Carlos Cantu Dies After Incarceration in Nueces County, TX Jail

The Nueces County Sheriff’s Office, in Corpus Christi, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Juan Carlos Cantu. Mr. Cantu was only 36 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The report indicates that Mr. Cantu passed away at 10:52 p.m. on September 14, 2022. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On September 14, 2022, A 35U (unknown medical emergency) was called for an unresponsive male identified as Inmate Juan Carlos Cantu (XXXXXXXX). Inmate Cantu was discovered on the floor of his cell. Medical staff arrived and initiated CRP. EMS was called at 2201 and arrived at 2203 and departed the facility at 2230. Inmate Cantu was taken to Christus Spohn Shoreline Hospital (600 Elizabeth St. Corpus Christi, TX) where he was later pronounced dead at 2252. Cause of death is unknown at this time pending the results of an autopsy. Texas Ranger, Sgt. Rodney Henderson-Texas Department of Public Safety has been notified.”

The report also indicates that Mr. Cantu was arrested only for possession of a controlled substance. We find that, unfortunately, a significant number of people dying in Texas jails have been arrested for low-level offenses, such as drug possession, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, and/or public intoxication.

Inmates in Texas county jails are entitled to receive medical care. The United States Constitution provides this guarantee, and if jailers and/or medical personnel in a jail are deliberately indifferent to an inmate’s known serious medical issues, and a person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a federal civil rights lawsuit. Our firm is currently litigating a number of such lawsuits across the State of Texas.

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.