Press Release: Man Dies in Howard County Jail After Receiving No Medical Care – Federal Lawsuit Filed

Man Detained in Howard County Jail Dies After Receiving No Medical Care – Federal Lawsuit Filed

For Immediate Release

Abilene, Texas – February 24, 2026

Steve Hildebrand, a pretrial detainee, needlessly suffered and died in the Howard County jail. The continuity of care query obtained by jail staff indicated that Steve had likely received mental health services from West Texas Centers. His mental health issues, combined with his high level of intoxication and going through detoxification, made it clear to everyone in the jail that Steve was unable to request the medical care he so desperately needed to ease his suffering and save his life. Regardless, Howard County failed to provide any medical care at all to Steve. Steve suffered over many hours in the jail until he was finally found deceased.

Constitutional rights lawyer Dean Malone represents Steve’s family members and filed a federal lawsuit in Abilene, Texas.  Mr. Malone said, “Once again, we see a pre-trial detainee at a Texas county jail dying after receiving no medical care for an obviously serious medical condition. Our law firm continues to see the same situation in multiple counties across our state. There is no reason that emergency medical personnel, who can be summoned to a jail with a simple phone call, were not called to evaluate Steve. We have excellent medical professionals throughout Texas, but if no one asks for their help, these unnecessary jail deaths will continue.”

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.