Inmates participate in a mass at the Bexar County Adult Detention Facility in San Antonio in 2013.
Lisa Krantz/San Antonio Express-News
MYSA
By Steven Santana
Updated
After multiple inmate deaths in recent months, the chief of the Bexar County Adult Detention center has resigned to take care of family issues. Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed in a statement to MySA Thursday, October 12, that Deputy Chief Jaime Rios resigned October 9 to take care of an aging and ailing relative in a different part of Texas.
"Having been there myself, it’s certainly understandable and commendable," Salazar said in the statement. "We are actively looking to replace him, as he was a valuable member of our team."
Salazar did not provide a timeline for when a new jail chief will be selected. Rios is stepping down after three recent deaths occurred in the jail. They occurred in August, September, and on Tuesday, October 10. Salazar said the most recent death, a man named Ed Penix, was homeless and had mental health issues, adding that he shouldn't have been in the jail.
Rios was brought on in November 2019 amid jail troubles, the Express-News reported. The jail's issues were highlighted when a report from the Deputy Sheriff''s Association of Bexar County was released in December 2020 calling the facility the "worst managed jail in Texas."
A jail report conducted by two third-party companies in November 2022 showed that the jail's problems have been compounded by increased jail population and a lack of beds at state or mental health facilities, the Express-News reported. The reports also pointed to a lack of competitive pay as a problem.
Salazar has also been to commissioners court numerous times over the past few years to request overtime pay for deputies — with the hours totaling over 100,000. Commissioners court approved a 9% pay increase for deputies in August.