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Maverick County, Texas Jail Prisoner Dies

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Inside The Old Idaho State Penitentiary

The Maverick County Sheriff’s Department recently filed a custodial death report with the Texas Attorney General. The report was regarding the death of Encarnacion Guerrero. Mr. Guerrero was only 42 years old at the time he passed away. We provide information from that report in this post and make no allegation of any wrongdoing by anyone.

On May 8, 2019, at approximately 6:31 a.m., Maverick County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a home regarding a disturbance in progress. When deputies arrived, Mr. Guerrero’s wife was holding him down due to his kicking and his screaming that someone was trying to kill him. Deputies attempted to calm down Mr. Guerrero but were unsuccessful. Mr. Guerrero became combative, and the report reads that “deputies [used] necessary force . . . to detain said subject.” Mr. Guerrero was then transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

The report indicates that Mr. Guerrero allegedly died of alcohol or drug intoxication, as the manner of death, and as a result of drug overdose, enlarged heart, and an 80% blockage of an artery as the medical cause of death. The report does not indicate that an autopsy was conducted, but one would assume that the listed cause of death would have resulted from an autopsy. This would be surprising, however, because autopsy results, as a result of the length it takes to obtain toxicology results, generally take two to three months.

The report does not indicate that the Texas Rangers will be conducting an investigation. However, it is customary for the Texas Rangers to be involved in a custodial death such as that involving Mr. Guerrero.

Written By: author avatar Dean Malone
author avatar 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.