Texas Rangers investigating 8th death at Tarrant County Jail this year
A 44-year-old Fort Worth woman is the eighth person to die while being detained at the Tarrant County Jail this year.
Dalanna Price was found dead in her jail cell at 4:41 a.m. Wednesday, 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.
A spokesperson for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office referred questions to the Texas Rangers.
Texas DPS spokesman Lonny Haschel sent the following statement: “At the request of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Rangers have been requested to work collectively in the investigation of an in-custody death. The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is currently available.”
Of the eight deaths this year, one was related to COVID-19.
The first death occurred in February. 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 and only detainee 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.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 9:10 AM.
