Man Dies from Medical Issues After Being in the Tom Green County Jail

The Tom Green County Sheriff’s Department, in San Angelo, Texas, reported the death of Celestino Perez to the Attorney General of Texas. Mr. Perez died after being in the Tom Green County jail. We make no allegation of any wrongdoing in this post but are instead simply providing information in that public death report.

The report indicates that Mr. Perez made suicidal statements but allegedly did not exhibit any mental health problems. The report also indicates nothing about when Mr. Perez was originally incarcerated in the Tom Green County jail. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On Saturday, January 02, 2021, at approximately 5:25 PM, Tom Green County Jail Officer Richard Villarreal was conducting jail checks when he became aware that Inmate Celestino Perez Jr. was not waking up for dinner. Officer Villarreal attempted to wake Inmate Perez but found Perez unresponsive. Officer Villarreal called for the medical staff to assist and at approximately 5:30 PM, Registered Nurse D.J. Thompson arrived at the cell and was unable to locate a pulse on Perez. At this time, R.N. Thompson began to administer CPR while the jail staff called 911 for an ambulance. At 5:47 PM, paramedics arrived and took over CPR. Despite the life-saving efforts of the medical personnel, Inmate Perez never regained consciousness and was pronounced deceased at 6:15 PM. Inmate Perez has a significant history of medical difficulties and received substantial medical treatment while incarcerated in the Tom Green County Detention Facility. During the last period of incarceration, Inmate Perez was taken to Shannon Medical Center on five occasions for doctor visits and treatment of various medical complaints. His medical file within the Tom Green County Detention Center consists of 357 pages. The Texas Rangers were summoned to the Tom Green County Detention Facility to conduct an in-custody death investigation. The body of Celestino Perez Jr. was ultimately transported to South Plains Forensic Pathology in Lubbock, Texas for autopsy.”

Texas jailers must provide reasonable medical care to inmates. Aside from being the decent thing to do, it is required by the United States Constitution. When jailers fail to do so, claims are sometimes brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C § 1983, and they are usually filed in federal court. This is just general information, and we once again make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Perez’s 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.