A 40-year-old inmate at the Tarrant County Jail died Tuesday after being found unresponsive during a routine cell check, marking the second in-custody death at the facility in two days and the third so far this year.

According to a statement from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, a detention officer discovered the man kneeling beside his bed and not responding to verbal prompts. Upon entering the cell, the officer observed that the inmate was experiencing a medical emergency. Jail staff initiated life-saving measures immediately, which continued when medical personnel from John Peter Smith Hospital arrived. The inmate was transported to the hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after.

The inmate had been booked into the Tarrant County Jail on June 14 following his arrest by Fort Worth police on charges of possession of less than two ounces of marijuana. Officials noted that during the initial medical screening at booking, the man declined to cooperate with the medical assessment or consent to evaluation.

The sheriff’s office emphasized that jail staff make efforts to identify medical and mental health concerns during booking, but cannot compel inmates to follow medical advice from hospital physicians or nurses.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death and will release the man’s identity once the process is complete.

The facility recorded six in-custody deaths in 2025 and nine each in 2024 and 2023, according to recent annual jail reports.

All in-custody deaths at the Tarrant County Jail undergo comprehensive review by multiple agencies, including deputies from the sheriff’s office, the Criminal Investigations Division, the county medical examiner, an external law enforcement agency, medical staff at John Peter Smith Hospital, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.