Markist Levar Sims Dies After Being in Matagorda County, Texas Jail

The Matagorda County Sheriff’s Department, in Bay City, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Markist Levar Sims. Mr. Sims was 45 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 any person.

The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“Decedent was arrested on 08/05/2022 by Bay City Police for Evading Arrest and Unlawful Possession of Firearm by Felon. Decedent was brought to Matagorda County Jail around 10:06 pm and accepted by jail staff. Decedent was placed into the Detox cell by himself around 10:30 pm. Around 12:16 am on 08/06/2022 a jailer checking on decedent noticed him to appear to be in some type of distress. Emergency medical services were called and upon their arrival the decedent was transported to Matagorda Regional Hospital for treatment. Sometime later during treatment the decedent went into cardiac arrest and was unable to be revived.”

Thus, the report provides no information regarding any periodic observations of Mr. Sims between the time he was put into a “detox” cell and the time he was found nearly 2 hours later. If a person is experiencing detoxification from drugs and/or alcohol, he typically will need to be placed under an appropriate medical protocol. The report also provides no information regarding whether any medical protocol was applied to Mr. Sims’ situation.

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of those who are incarcerated in Texas county jails to receive reasonable medical care. If jailers or others fail to provide such care, and a person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a federal 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.