56-year-old inmate dies in Tarrant County jail custody
FORT WORTH, Texas - Another inmate has died while in custody of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. But in this case, the inmate was at the hospital.
Feb. 18 Tarrant County In-Custody Death
What we know:
According to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, the 56-year-old inmate was arrested in Grand Prairie on Jan. 24 for outstanding felony warrants for injury to a child/elderly/disabled person and obstruction/retaliation.
The inmate was transferred to the Tarrant County jail the next day and placed under medical observation, where there is 24/7 access to medical care.
That same inmate was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth on Feb. 15 and passed away on Tuesday while at the hospital.
What we don't know:
The sheriff’s office did not release any information about why the inmate was placed under medical observation or what prompted the hospital transfer.
The inmate’s name and gender were also not released.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will work to determine their cause of death.
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Tarrant County Jail Deaths
The backstory:
The jail has come under scrutiny for the nearly 70 in-custody deaths since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017.
While this is the jail’s first in-custody death for 2025, there were two deaths in December.
Mason Yancy died on Dec. 27, four days after Grapevine police arrested him on drug charges. The sheriff’s office said the 31-year-old disclosed a long history of medical issues when he was booked into the jail. Then he died after a medical emergency, despite life-saving efforts.
On Dec. 2, a 51-year-old man died after telling jail staff he was not feeling well. He was examined at the jail and taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he died.
Anthony Johnson Jr.’s Death
VIDEO: Jailer kneels on Tarrant County inmate
31-year-old Anthony Ray Johnson died on April 21 following a struggle with corrections officers at the Tarrant County Jail. Two jailers were fired on Thursday because of the incident.
The backstory:
The case that caused the most controversy last year was inmate Anthony Ray Johnson Jr.’s death in June. He died following a struggle with jailers that was captured on video.
The two jailers involved were charged with murder after Johnson’s death was ruled a homicide.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a news release from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and past news coverage.