Second person dies after contracting COVID-19 in jail, Tarrant County sheriff says
A second person who was being held at the Tarrant County Jail has died after getting sick with COVID-19, the sheriff’s office said on Tuesday.
The man, 60, was booked into the jail on May 18 on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital on Nov. 3 and died Monday, Lt. Jennifer Gabbert said in a news release.
The man’s name has not been released.
In May, 67-year-old Jose Rivera, who had been held in the jail since February, died of COVID-19.
On Nov. 9, the jail reported 43 cases of COVID-19 among inmates. Nineteen staff members were out after positive tests.
The 60-year-old man is the 11th person to die in the jail this year:
▪ Ricky Farmer, 57, was found unresponsive in his jail after being given a tray of food, according to a state report. He later died at John Peter Smith Hospital. The report doesn’t give a cause of death and Farmer’s death is not listed on the medical examiner’s website.
▪ Willie Goode, 61, was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital during his March book-in for medical treatment. A state report does not say what the treatment was for and his death is also not listed on the medical examiner’s website.
▪ In April, Dean Ray Stewart, 50, was found dead in his jail cell by suicide. A state investigation found that jail employees were late to check on Stewart three times. At one point, he was left alone for nearly an hour when jailers were 21 minutes late to a check. The jail temporarily lost its state certification for not being compliant with checks.
▪ In May, Jose Manuel Rivera, 67, became the first person to die of COVID-19 while being held at the jail.
▪ On June 19, Javonte Myers, 28, was found unresponsive in his cell. The medical examiner listed his cause of death as a seizure disorder, but his family questions whether or not he was neglected.
▪ Jason Glendon Martin, 40, died of heart disease on June 24.
▪ The next day, 40-year-old Abdullahi Mohamed died. His cause of death is still listed as pending.
▪ In September, Dalanna Price was found dead in her jail cell at 4:41 a.m., according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of her death hasn’t yet been determined, according the medical examiner’s website.
▪ Andre Wilson, 34, died at JPS Hospital after being transferred there from the Tarrant County Jail, according to the county medical examiner. The cause of his death hasn’t been determined, according to the medical examiner’s website. He was found unresponsive in his jail cell and life-saving measures were taken, the sheriff’s office said.
▪ Dale Garland Thompson, 68, died at 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 28. Thompson was taken to the hospital and was found to have untreated liver cancer, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sepsis
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 4:30 PM.
