2 Tarrant County inmates die in jail custody in 3 days

Two inmates died in the Tarrant County Jail while in custody over the past three days, reported the sheriff’s office and medical examiner’s records.

Detention officers responded to a medical emergency inside of a jail cell where they discovered a 39-year-old male inmate unresponsive, said the sheriff’s office in a press release Tuesday.

Life-saving measures were administered until the Fort Worth Fire Department and MedStar arrived, the release said.

The man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital and pronounced dead.

Preliminary evidence suggests the inmate committed suicide, reported the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. It has been confirmed by investigators that all required check-ins on the inmate were completed and met the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the sheriff’s office said.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released the inmate’s identity and the cause of death.

JoAnn Lemmons, the 55-year-old female inmate is the second person who died in custody over the three-day period, according to the medical examiner’s records.

Lemmons was transported from the jail to JPS, where she was pronounced dead, reported the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Lemmons was booked on a charge of theft of property and had been in custody since Saturday, according to jail records.

The sheriff’s office has not yet released a statement about her death nor has the cause and manner of her death been released, an autopsy is still pending.

Every in-custody death is reviewed and investigated by an outside law enforcement agency, according to Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office jail staff.