Category: Medical Care

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.

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, in Fort Worth, Texas, filed yet another custodial death report regarding the death of one of its inmates. The Tarrant County jail has of late had far too many inmates dying in its custody. The latest report regarding the death of Trelynn Dmaun Wormley was filed in August 20, 2022. Mr. Wormley was only 23 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 anyone.

The summary portion of the reports reads in its entirety:

“Custodial death of Trelynn Dmaun Wormley (B/M 01-11-1999 TX SID #16779442 TCSO CID #0900028 TX ID #37571534) on July 20, 2022. Wormley was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on January 25, 2022, for Theft $100- $750 X2, Fail to ID Fictitious Info, Fraud Use of ID Info, Harassment of Pub Servant, Aggravated Robbery, and Unlawful Carrying a Weapon. The charges originated with the Fort Worth, Arlington, and Mansfield Police Departments. Wormley was house at the Tarrant County Jail Greenbay Facility in cell 40-F-01. An Inmate Medical Emergency Code was called for Wormley at 2:52 pm when fellow inmates reported to the detention officers that Wormley was in his bunk and appeared to be having difficulty breathing. The Code was changed to a Dr. Heart (Cardiac Emergency) at 2:53 pm. John Peter Smith Hospital (JPSH) Medical staff assigned to the jail responded to the incident, as did the Fort Worth Fire Department and Medstar Ambulance Service. Wormley was transported to JPSH by Medstar at 3:29 pm. Dr. Chabanon Hicks pronounced Wormley deceased at 3:55 pm on July 20, 2022, at JPSH. Detective Pantlitz is the primary investigator for TCSO, Service number 2022-10264. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner was contacted and will be conducting an autopsy, case number 22-13277. The case will reviewed by the Fort Worth Major Case Unit headed by Sgt. J. Phillips.”

The report also indicates that Mr. Wormley experienced mental health problems. Our Texas jail injury and neglect law firm sees far too many inmates across our state, who are incarcerated for alleged crimes, but who instead should likely be held in a mental health facility. We do not have specifics regarding Mr. Wormley’s mental health situation. However, the United States Constitution requires Texas counties to protect inmates in their care. This requirement includes the right of the inmate to receive reasonable medical and mental health care. It also includes the right to be protected from suicidal and/or other self-harm tendencies. If a person dies as a result of violation of constitutional rights, then certain surviving family members may be able to bring a lawsuit.

The Trinity County Jail, in Groveton, Texas, failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) occurring in 2022. As a result, on July 20, 2022, the TCJS issued a notice of non-compliance. When a TCJS inspector was investigating pursuant to a complaint, the TCJS inspector determined that the Trinity County, Texas jail was over capacity in multiple occupancy cells. The TCJS inspector also determined that the jail violated the minimum standard regarding serving meals to inmates. The inspector determined that the Trinity County Jail served only two meals without any supplemental food service.

The Hardin County Jail, in Kountze, Texas, failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) occurring on or about July 12th, 2022. The Hardin County, Texas jail is, as a result, now listed as being non-compliant by the TCJS.

The TCJS inspector determined that the Hardin County, Texas jail’s fire panel was red-tagged and inoperable. Equally troubling, the TCJS inspector determined that all intercoms in the Hardin County Jail were inoperable. Thus, the Hardin County Jail had the combination of no two-way communication in the jail while at the same time having the fire panel being red-tagged and inoperable. This could have led to serious injury and/or death, perhaps multiple deaths, in the event of a fire.

The Nueces County Jail, in Corpus Christi, Texas, failed an inspection occurring in or about June 2022. On July 29, 2022, the TCJS issued a notice of non-compliance. The TCJS found that multiple inmates had been held in holding cells for more than 48 hours. Moreover, the TCJS inspector determined that the jail had faced over population issues periodically since May 22, 2022, but never had communicated as much with the inspector or anyone else at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards until the inspector arrived on site for the inspection.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspector also found that the downtown and annex facilities’ fire inspections were currently in a “failed” status. The TCJS inspector also found several items related to the sanitation plan, including food dried onto appliances in the kitchen, mold and mildew on the inside of the ice machine, a walk-in freezer cluttered with overturned boxes and open boxes with exposed freezer-burned food, and missing floor tiles in the kitchen. Further, there were 39 inmate beds out of commission due to broken intercoms. The TCJS inspector determined that such issue related directly to overcrowding issues during intake. Hopefully, the jail cured these issues, and no one was harmed as a result.

The Tyler County Jail, in Woodville, Texas, failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) occurring on or about July 13, 2022. Therefore, the Tyler County, Texas jail is now listed at TCJS’s website as being non-compliant.

The TCJS inspector determined, during a review of an escape from the Tyler County Jail, that jail staff failed to perform observation checks for several hours. This demonstrates that observation checks, which must be made at specific periodic intervals, protect not only jail inmates and jail employees, but also the public at large.

The Shelby County Jail, in Center, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The TCJS inspection occurred on or about July 12, 2022. The Shelby County, Texas jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the TCJS.

The TCJS inspector found that the Shelby County Jail violated a minimum standard regarding the fire alarm panel. The TCJS inspector determined that the panel failed to show the location of an active smoke detector, during a fire drill. Interestingly, the issue was an area of technical assistance during a 2021 annual inspection.

The TCJS inspector also determined, amazingly, that a jail staff member did not possess a valid Texas Commission on Law Enforcement jailer’s license. The “jailer” was on duty and actively supervising inmates at the time of inspection. There’s absolutely no excuse for allowing a non-licensed jailer to interact with and have supervision over inmates. Using unlicensed jailers can lead to significant injury and/or death. Hopefully, that did not occur in the Shelby County Jail as a result of failing to assure that all jailers were licensed by TCOLE.

The Medina County Jail, in Hondo, Texas, failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) in or about July 2022. As a result, the TCJS sent a letter to the Medina County Sheriff and Medina County Judge. The Medina County Jail was therefore listed as being non-compliant at the TCJS website.

When investigating a custodial death occurring in the Leon County Jail, the TCJS inspector determined that there was no documented reassessment of an inmate confined to a violent cell. The inmate was confined in the violent cell for over 68 hours with no documented reassessments conducted.

The Leon County Jail, in Centerville, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). As a result, on July 20, 2022, the TCJS sent a letter to the Leon County sheriff and the Leon County judge. The Leon County Jail is now listed as being non-compliant at the TCJS website.

The TCJS inspector, in or about July 2022, after investigating a complaint related to overcrowding, discovered that Leon County had nine inmates housed in a portion of the jail, which is a multiple occupancy cell, and which may not exceed eight inmates. Moreover, the TCJS inspector found that Leon County was housing females in areas within the jail in too close proximity to male inmates. Finally, the Leon County Jail violated the standard requiring at least one jailer for every 48 inmates. Thus, there was clearly overcrowding in the Leon County Jail. Hopefully, no injury or death occurred as a result.

The Edwards County Jail, in Rocksprings, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The Edwards County Jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the TCJS at the TCJS website.

The Edwards County Jail violated a minimum state standard related to veteran arrestees. A minimum jail standard in Texas, designed to protect our veterans, requires each sheriff and jail operator in Texas to investigate and verify the veteran status of each prisoner using a specific database. The TCJS inspector found that the Edwards County, Texas jail was not using the Veteran’s Reentry Search Service system. In fact, no VRSS verifications had been completed in the prior 12 months.

Aside from the listed area of noncompliance, the TCJS inspector learned, after reviewing Edwards County Jail life safety records, that the quarterly fire prevention checklist had not been completed this year. The Edwards County Jail also did not have an ADA compliance evaluation on file. Finally, the inspector noted multiple missing drain covers and three cells marked as “out of order.” Jail administration were required to submit to the TCJS photos depicting repairs as soon as they were completed. If the jail failed to restore the cells, the jail could be found as, once again, non-compliant.