Third Prisoner In Less Than One Month Dies At Travis County Jail

AUSTIN, TX — Officials on Sunday said an inmate at the Travis County Correctional Complex was found dead the previous day — the third prisoner to die in the prison in less than a month's time.

In a press advisory released on Sunday, the Travis County Sheriff's Office said Arthur David Westley, 48, was found "unresponsive" in his cell on Saturday at around 9 am. Despite resuscitation efforts, the man was pronounced dead at 9:47 a.m., according to the advisory.

Sheriff's officials said an investigation by the Internal Affairs Unit, the Texas Rangers and the Medical Examiner’s Office is ongoing, as is customary with any death in custody. Despite his relative youth, sheriff's officials said the evidence indicates Westley "likely died of natural causes."

The sheriff's office said the autopsy was conducted on Sunday (Aug. 5), and the final report is pending toxicology results.

In a reply to a Patch inquiry, sheriff's officials said Westley was in detention at the jail following a Sept. 7, 2016, arrest and subsequent charge with three counts of aggravated sexual assault. A sheriff's office spokeswoman was unsure what law enforcement made the initial arrest, and was unable to immediately provide a booking photo as a result.

Related story: Inmate Dies While Detained At Travis County Jail

Westley became the second inmate to die at the Travis County jail in just under two weeks. Naquan Jamar Carter, 23, was found unresponsive in his cell just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24, Travis County Sheriff's Office officials said in a press advisory. Officers and medical staff initiated CPR in efforts to resuscitate the man, but he was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m., a sheriff's office spokeswoman said.

In announcing that death, sheriff's officials also noted the launch of an investigation by the Internal Affairs Unit, the Texas Rangers and the Medical Examiner's Office. Like the latest death, sheriff's officials also attributed the likely cause of Carter's death to "natural causes" even while noting toxicology results were still pending.

Less than a month ago, another inmate died at the same jail. On July 8, Ronald Lynn Hall, 55, of Austin was found on the floor of his Travis County Correctional Complex cell in distress, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said at the time. Hall was rushed to Dell Seton Medical Center while medics performed CPR on him. But by 10:20 a.m., Hall was pronounced dead.

Hall's death was the fourth at the Travis County Jail in two months since May 31, when two inmates died at the Travis County Jail on the same day in what officials also described as "natural causes." Eric Taylor, 24, of Austin, was found on the floor of his cell and Donald Cook, 50, of Austin, was found unresponsive in his cell during dinner service before being pronounced dead.

In June 2017, Herman Titus, 21, of Austin was found in critical condition but sheriff's officials said evidence found at scene suggests no foul play was involved. Citing recent passage of the Sandra Bland Act, the Travis County Sheriff's Office has asked the Texas Rangers to conduct an investigation into the death, officials said at the time. Titus was transported by EMS to South Austin Hospital in critical condition before dying shortly after his arrival.

The following month, on July 8, 2017, Eloy Villanueva, 43, of Austin was found unresponsive in his jail cell at around noon on Sunday, jail officials said. EMS medics were dispatched to the scene about 10 minutes later and performed CPR, but the inmate was pronounced dead by 12:51 p.m., Travis County Sheriff's Office officials said.

Get Patch's Daily Newsletters and Real Time Alerts

>>> Arthur David Westley booking photo via Travis County Sheriff's Office