Sheriff: Galveston County Jail inmate dies after medical episode A 67-year-old Galveston County Jail inmate died Friday (12/20/2024) after experiencing a medical issue while in custody, Sheriff Henry Trochesset said. The man had been in the county jail since September on intoxicated driving and sex offender registration violation charges when he experienced a medical issue, the sheriff said. While he was being treated in the jail’s medical ward, his condition worsened, and he was taken to UTMB Health’s Emergency Room at John Sealy Hospital. He was pronounced dead at around 1:40 PM. The death was reported to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, as required by law. The Texas Rangers and the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office will also investigate, as is protocol. i45NOW is not reporting the man’s identity because it was unconfirmed if his immediate family had been notified as of Friday afternoon. Jail records show the inmate was jailed on his sixth DWI charge and was in violation of reporting as a registered sex offender. He is the sixth Galveston County Jail inmate to die while in custody. In January, Rio Shareese Jones, 49, died of kidney failure while in Hospice care at UTMB Health. Jones had been in the county jail for about six months for a parole violation. On February 1, Brittany Nicole Anderson, 32, died shortly after she got into a tussle with corrections deputies when she dashed into a hall in an apparent attempt to escape. Her cause of death was determined to be because of a perforated ulcer that existed before she was jailed on the charge of violating the terms of her release on a child endangerment charge. Her death drew dozens of protestors demanding an investigation into the situation surrounding her death. The medical examiner did not list the physical altercation with deputies as having contributed to her death. Then, 60-year-old Shawn Michael Cleveland died from a suicide by hanging on April 25. A few days before his death, Cleveland was on a work detail at the county courthouse when he attempted to escape by taking a county golf cart during a trustee detail. On Sept. 11, Saul Vargas died after he was stunned by a Taser during an altercation with correction deputies. Vargas had been in the jail for 8 days on burglary charges. Most remain under investigation because state labs have not returned toxicology test results. The Texas Rangers and Galveston County DA are also investigating two recent Texas City Police Department in-custody deaths. One of those involved the death of Rego Ornelas, 45, who died in late October after he had been arrested and reportedly had a medical issue when police arrived at the Galveston County Jail. His cause of death was still pending a toxicology report, the medical examiner’s office said. His family and protestors, led by Houston activist and FOX 26 TV personality Quanel X, demanded that the video of Ornelas’ arrest be made public and the officer involved in his arrest be fired. Derrick Dewayne Glenn, 47, died December 10 at HCA Mainland Medical Center after police said he swallowed a bag containing drugs when he was stopped while walking on Oak Street in West Texas City. Those in-custody deaths are also open investigations.

Posted by i45NOW ADMIN at 2024-12-20 23:01:52 UTC