On June 4, 2022, Adam Talavera died in the law enforcement facility/booking center at the El Paso County Jail Annex. He had been incarcerated since August 17, 2020. When he was going through the intake process at the jail, it was noted that Mr. Talavera exhibited mental health problems.

El Paso County Jail Inmate Fernando Serna Candelas Dies on 6/30/21

Fernando Serna Candelas was housed in a multiple occupancy cell in the downtown location of the El Paso County jail from March 9, 2021, until his death in the jail’s custody on June 30, 2021. The cause of his “accidental” death was “fentanyl toxicity,” as quoted from the custodial death report (CDR) about Mr. Candelas that was filed by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department on August 24, 2021. The CDR also indicates that the means of death was a drug overdose.

When officers at the jail responded to a call from an inmate, they discovered that Mr. Candelas was vomiting as he lay on his top bunk in the cell. He was moved to the floor and CPR was initiated by an officer. The medical staff continued CPR and deployed an A.E.D., which yielded negative results. He was then moved by ambulance to a Las Palmas hospital, where he was pronounced dead approximately one hour after jail staff learned about the medical emergency.

See Part 1 of this ongoing series.

Offering helpful resources to inmates in municipal and county jails in Texas is the purpose of this website. There is no intention of implicating persons or organizations in acts of wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor