HOUSTON — The FBI agreed to review two deaths that happened at the Harris County Jail.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez asked the feds to look into the deaths of two inmates, one of which died a few weeks ago.
Jacoby Pillow died in January. His was one of several families calling for answers on Monday. They said the information that they've gotten doesn't add up. His lawyers said Pillow was being released on a $100 bond for a misdemeanor trespassing charge when he got into a fight with jail personnel. Pillow got new charges and was detained overnight. He was found dead the next morning.
"It’s been seven weeks and we have not been notified or told anything," Jacoby Pillow's sister, Octavia Wagner, said.
Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump said at least four inmates have died at the jail so far in 2023. In 2022, he said, 28 inmates died at the jail. Crump called for an investigation by the United States Department of Justice to find out what's going on at the Harris County Jail. Crump said he filed a formal request and he's also working with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to get it done.
"We haven’t gotten any answers from Harris County. ... Nobody has reached out. Nobody has gave their condolences from the county. Nobody has given us ... anything. It’s not fair, and it’s not right," Jacoby Pillow's sister, Ariana Pillow, said. "Being a former employee in Harris County working for pretrial (services), I’ve literally witnessed correctional staff mistreat detainees because they were in need of insulin for diabetes or other medical issues, and I’ve literally witnessed them being the reason for altercations taking place between them and detainees, and it’s not fair and it’s not right."
Crump said they've hit a brick wall every time they've tried to get video and other pieces of evidence related to the deaths.
"You don’t need to say no more, just release the video," Crump said.
The lawyers are calling on Gonzalez to meet with families and show them video of what happened.
"Invite the families in and let them see it (surveillance video). Talk to them so they’re not in the dark," attorney Paul Grinke said.
Last week, former jailer Eric Niles Morales was charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of Jaquaree Simmons in 2021. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said it's the first time a detention officer has been criminally charged in connection with an in-custody death at the Harris County Jail. An investigation into Simmons' death also led to 11 Harris County Sheriff's Office employees being fired and six more being suspended.
The FBI will be looking into Jacoby Pillow and Simmons' deaths.
HCSO has not responded to requests for a response.
The medical examiner's office hasn't released Pillow's cause of death but the Houston Police Department said it is investigating.