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Category: Custodial Death

A 25-Year-Old Dies in Cameron County Jail on 10/21/23

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Eric Garza, filed a custodial death report about Jacqueline Barosio on November 1, 2023. Ms. Barosio was booked into Cameron County Jail in Olmito, Texas, on June 1, 2023. She died of unknown causes at the jail on October 21, 2023. An autopsy was performed, and her cause of death is pending autopsy and toxicology reports. Few details are provided in the summary of how the death occurred. Ms. Barosio was only 25 years of age when she died in Cameron County Jail.

Causes of Death of Detainees in Cameron County Jail Continued

After 39-year-old Johnny Gutierrez died of suicide in Cameron County Jail in January 2023, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards followed up on the custodial suicide with a jail inspection. It appears that an October 2023 inspection makes a reference to the death of Mr. Gutierrez as it cites Cameron County Jail for failing to comply with a rule that is a key component of any suicide prevention plan.

Rule §273.5(a)(1)- Training, which is in the chapter on Health Services, is the rule Cameron County Jail allegedly failed to comply with. Suicides are prevalent in local jails in Texas and the entire U.S. The jail environment places detainees at risk for suicide, as statistics prove. Suicide is the leading cause of death in county and municipal jails. It is incumbent upon each jail system to address the problem by establishing and complying with a suicide prevention plan.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

Providing helpful resources for Texas detainees in county and city jails is one purpose of this website. Suggesting that any persons or entities have engaged in misdeeds is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A 56 Year-Old Dies After 8 Days in Bell County Jail-4

3d interior Jail

The following events happened on October 19, 2023, at Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas. After an officer was advised that detainee Thomas Rolston was not feeling well, he approached Mr. Rolston. The officer discussed Mr. Rolston’s medical issues with him. The officer then went to the desk to call and advised the infirmary that Mr. Rolston would be escorted to the infirmary for chest pains. When the officer returned to Mr. Rolston’s bunk, he discovered that the detainee was unresponsive.

Recent Suicides and Other Deaths in Bell County Jail Continued

A 49-year-old detainee at Bell County Jail was booked into the facility on August 28, 2022, at 3:55 a.m. The custodial death report’s summary about the detainee’s death is lengthy, although he was pronounced deceased 1 hour after booking. The notes made at intake include that he appeared intoxicated and exhibited mental health problems. It was unknown whether he had medical problems, and he did not make any suicidal statements at that time. The location of the Bell County Jail is 1201 Huey Drive, Belton, Texas 76513.

The following is information from the summary of the events surrounding the death of the detainee:

  • After the detainee entered the loop jail facility, he was placed in the triage area where he awaited medical screening. A jail nurse attempted to ask him questions regarding medical intake. The detainee refused to answer any questions. He became verbally aggressive to the point that a jailer had to intervene. Jailers brought the detainee into the search vestibule.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

One of this website’s purposes is to provide helpful resources to benefit Texas county and municipal jail detainees and their families. Implying that an individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A 25-Year-Old Dies in Cameron County Jail on 10/21/23

Jacqueline Barosio went through intake in Cameron County Jail on June 1, 2023. Ms. Barosio was in a single cell and she was found unconscious on an unspecified date. The custodial death report (CDR) about her also indicates that there was no bruising or marks on her body. Ms. Barosio was pronounced deceased on October 21, 2023. The address of the jail is 7100 Old Alice Road, Olmito, TX 78575. Known as the Carrizales-Rucker Cameron County Detention Center, the jail has a 71-bed capacity.

Causes of Death of Detainees in Cameron County Jail

There have been a number of custodial deaths, including suicides, in recent years in Cameron County, Texas. Some occurred in the Olmito, Texas, location and others happened at the Cameron County Jail in Brownsville, Texas. At least two of the deaths were associated with restraints.

Johnny Gutierrez Dies by Suicide in Cameron County Jail

Thirty-nine-year-old Johnny Gutierrez entered Cameron County Jail on January 8, 2023. He was housed in a single cell in the 500-bed facility at 954 E. Harrison in Brownsville, Texas 78520. Mr. Gutierrez exhibited mental health problems and made suicidal statements when he went through intake, according to the custodial death report (CDR) that the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department filled out about his death.

On January 26, 2023, Mr. Gutierrez was discovered hanging by his neck from a mattress cover he had fashioned into a ligature. He was transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to the Valley Baptist Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased the next day. Learn more in this ongoing series.

Providing helpful resources for Texas detainees in county and city jails is one purpose of this website. Suggesting that any persons or entities have engaged in misdeeds is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A 56 Year-Old Dies After 8 Days in Bell County Jail-3

3d interior Jail

When 56-year-old Thomas Rolston went through intake at Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas, on October 12, 2023, it was noted that he exhibited mental health problems and had medical issues. The custodial death report (CDR) indicates that he received treatment at the jail for the medical condition that caused his October 19, 2023, death. There are no further details that shed light on any medical treatment he may have received before the day of his death.

Recent Suicides and Other Deaths in Bell County Jail Continued

The previously mentioned detainee who died after a suicide attempt at Bell County Jail was discovered hanging in his cell by jail staff during normal observation rounds on May 5, 2021. He had used a bed sheet as a ligature and tied the other end to the top cell bar. The staff cut him down and attempted lifesaving measures until emergency medical services (EMS) arrived and took over. The detainee was transported to the emergency room at Scott & White Hospital. He was placed on life support and the decision was made by the family to remove life support. He was pronounced deceased at 11:04 PM on May 11, 2021.

Among the findings of a follow-up investigation was that the death was by hanging, and the decedent was found hanging from a bedsheet. The history is that the decedent was found hanging in an isolated jail cell. And there is also this note in the CDR: “Healing abraded furrow of anterior neck.”

It also indicates that the decedent had suicidal ideation. This suggests that heightened suicide prevention measures would have been an appropriate protocol.

Organ donation was made prior to the autopsy.

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this continuing series.

One of this website’s purposes is to provide helpful resources to benefit Texas county and municipal jail detainees and their families. Implying that an individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A 56 Year-Old Dies After 8 Days in Bell County Jail-2

3d interior Jail

On October 30, 2023, the Bell County Sheriff’s Office in Belton, Texas, filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Thomas Rolston. In the summary of how his death on October 19, 2023, occurred, the narrative starts by saying that Mr. Rolston was lying on his bunk inside a direct supervision housing unit when another inmate advised the officer who was working the housing unit that Mr. Rolston was not feeling well.

Recent Suicides and Other Deaths in Bell County Jail

Bell County Jail detainee Tyler Thomas Ross made a suicide attempt within minutes after being booked into the jail on July 3, 2023. Tragically, he died from his injuries about a week later. About 22% of jail suicides occurred in the first 24 hours between the years 2000-2004. That number improved between 2015 and 2019, during which time about 12% of jail suicides occurred before the second day of incarceration.

In Bell County Jail, there were at least seven custodial deaths in recent years, besides those in 2023. At least one that occurred in 2021 was deemed a self-inflicted death as a result of hanging. The detainee had entered the jail on November 25, 2019, per the custodial death report (CDR). He attempted suicide on May 5, 2021, and died from the injuries 6 days later on May 11. In the next segment of this series, learn more about the 2021 suicide at Bell County Jail. A further installment will be about the 2022 death of a detainee at Bell County Jail that was related to the use of restraints. Also, see Part 1.

One of this website’s purposes is to provide helpful resources to benefit Texas county and municipal jail detainees and their families. Implying that an individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A Bexar County Detainee Dies-5

Inside The Old Idaho State Penitentiary

After the nurse found Ed Penix unresponsive in the infirmary at Bexar County Jail and initiated a Code 1 Blue, she immediately began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). When personnel with the San Antonio Fire Department arrived, they continued the lifesaving measures. The medical director at the jail pronounced Mr. Penix deceased at 3:30 a.m. on October 10, 2023.

A Bexar County Jail Detainee Dies of Sepsis

A 47-year-old detainee at Bexar County Jail did not exhibit medical problems when he went through intake on June 25, 2022, per the custodial death report (CDR). There is no information about what happened between the date of entry into the San Antonio, Texas, jail and his death on December 5, 2022. It does indicate that the decedent received no treatment at the jail for the medical condition that caused his death.

We know that on December 4, 2022, at about 8:15 p.m., a medical emergency was initiated for the detainee because he was having difficulty breathing. He was transferred to the University Hospital Emergency Room (UHER) because the level of emergency the detainee was experiencing required a higher level of care. Hours later, at 2:08 a.m. on December 5, personnel at UHER initiated a medical emergency. Lifesaving measures were administered. Nineteen minutes later, a physician at the hospital deemed the effort unsuccessful. He pronounced the Bexar County Jail detainee deceased at 2:27 a.m.

An autopsy was performed and the medical cause of death was determined to be sepsis as well as periorbital cellulitis, periocular hemorrhage, swelling, and discoloration.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this five-part series.

Among other reasons, this website was created to provide detainees in local Texas jails and their families with helpful resources. There is no intention of making insinuations that persons or entities have engaged in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor

 

author avatar
smchugh

A 56 Year-Old Dies After 8 Days in Bell County Jail

3d interior Jail

After 56-year-old Thomas Rolston was booked into Bell County Jail on October 12, 2023, he only lived another week. Among the observations made about Mr. Rolston during intake was that he exhibited both mental health and medical problems. On October 19, 2023, Mr. Rolston died after being transported by ambulance to Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. The address of Bell County Jail where Mr. Rolston was housed is 1201 Huey Drive in Belton, Texas 76513. The bed capacity at this facility is 658 plus 24 beds in the infirmary.

Another Bell County Jail Death 3 Months Ago

Tyler Thomas Ross was 23 years old when he was incarcerated in Bell County Jail at 2405 S. Loop 121 in Belton, Texas 76513. He went through intake at about 7:50 p.m. on July 3, 2023. Tragically, within minutes, he was found hanging in the temporary holding cell where he had been placed. Lifesaving measures began immediately, and he was transported by ambulance to Baylor Scott and White, where he was admitted as a patient. Eight days later, on July 11, 2023, Mr. Ross was pronounced deceased by Justice of the Peace Larry Wilkey. An autopsy was ordered, and the results are still pending at this time.

An alarming percentage of jail suicides occur within the first 24 hours of incarceration. Suicide is the number one cause of death in county and municipal jails. Detainees also die from medical situations, after which families sometimes claim that their loved one was denied medical care. When other detainees died in Bell County Jail in recent years, what were the causes?

Learn more in this continuing series.

One of this website’s purposes is to provide helpful resources to benefit Texas county and municipal jail detainees and their families. Implying that an individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A Midland County Detainee Dies After Denying Food for 10 Days-Pt.5

Silhouette of barbed wires and watchtower of prison.

Midland County Jail’s staff had detainee John Michael Soza transported to Midland Memorial Hospital on September 25, 2023. He was admitted to the hospital. Over the next three weeks, Mr. Soza experienced several episodes in which his heart stopped beating and he was then resuscitated. On October 15, 2023, Mr. Soza’s heart failed again, and he was declared deceased after efforts to revive him failed.

Midland County Jail is Cited for Noncompliance Twice in 2023

Midland County Jail was cited for noncompliance with minimum jail standards in March and October of 2023. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) sets the operational guidelines for Texas municipal and county jails. One of the rules that inspectors with TCJS found that Midland County Jail failed to comply with was related to the use of a restraint chair.

Restraint chairs are approved for use by TCJS when detainees in local Texas jails are exhibiting behavior that could cause harm to themselves, others, or jail property. Also, all of the less restrictive types of restraints must have been found to be insufficient to get the situation under control.

It is widely recognized that restraint chairs can be deadly. Manufacturers’ instructions name various hazards related to the chairs. The following are examples of manufacturers’ warnings about restraint chairs:

  • Caution: Violent behavior may mask dangerous medical conditions. Detainees must be monitored continuously and provided medical treatment if needed.
  • Use of a restraint chair without reading and understanding instructions can lead to serious injury or death. Anyone using the chair should read the manufacturer’s instructions.

See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Providing help to municipal and county detainees in Texas is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention on this site to accuse any person or institution of unlawful activity.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A Midland County Detainee Dies After Denying Food for 10 Days-Pt.4

Silhouette of barbed wires and watchtower of prison.

When John Michael Soza went through intake at Midland County Jail, he exhibited evidence of mental health problems, according to the custodial death report (CDR). He was 28 years old when he entered the Midland, Texas, jail, in June 2023. Jail records indicate that he refused to eat starting on about September 17, 2023, through September 25, apart from September 22. On the 25th, his mental condition had deteriorated to the point that he became catatonic. On that day, he was transported to Midland Memorial Hospital. Mr. Soza was 29 years old when he was pronounced deceased at the hospital on October 15, 2023.

A Man Dies for Unknown Medical Reasons at Midland County Jail Continued

When Savion Vashon Hall got to the hospital, his breathing stopped, but the hospital staff resuscitated him. By court order, the jail staff released Mr. Hall from jail custody on July 11, 2019. Hospital personnel at an out-of-county hospital that Mr. Hall had been transferred to advised the Midland County Sheriff’s Office that he was pronounced deceased on July 19, 2019. His cause of death is unknown, as far as is indicated in the CDR.

Midland County Jail was cited for noncompliance twice this year, in April and October. Learn about the violation regarding restraints in the next segment. See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Providing help to municipal and county detainees in Texas is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention on this site to accuse any person or institution of unlawful activity.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh

A Bexar County Detainee Dies-2

Inside The Old Idaho State Penitentiary

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Ed Penix on October 24, 2023. Mr. Penix was 63 years old when he was pronounced deceased on October 10, 2023, his sixth day of incarceration in Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas. The intake process appears to be incomplete because the answer to two standard questions is “unknown,” those questions being whether he exhibited any medical or mental health problems. It is only in the summary of how Mr. Penix’s death occurred that specifics about his medical condition are provided.

A Detainee Dies by Suicide in Bexar County Jail

William James Shandore was 34 years old when he went through intake in Bexar County Jail. Tragically, he died in jail nine days later, on February 19, 2021. The first two weeks of incarceration have been identified as the deadliest days, in terms of detainees committing suicide. Mr. Shandore was within that time frame when suicide prevention measures in Bexar County Jail presumably failed.

Mr. Shandore’s cause of death was asphyxia by hanging. Since hanging is the method used in more than 92% of suicides, jail staff who go through mandatory suicide prevention training are aware of the vulnerability of detainees to this method of taking their own life.

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

Among other reasons, this website was created to provide detainees in local Texas jails and their families with helpful resources. There is no intention of making insinuations that persons or entities have engaged in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor

author avatar
smchugh
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