An investigation is underway after a 41-year-old man died while in the custody of the Duval County Sheriff's Office.
Eric Perez was found unresponsive Wednesday night and later died at the Alice hospital, according to Duval County Sheriff Romeo Ramirez.
Perez had been arrested at a home in Realitos Wednesday for public intoxication after family members called deputies and an ambulance to his father's home.
"He refused medical services at least three times," Ramirez said.
According to the sheriff, Perez became disorderly, verbally abusing family members and using vulgar language toward deputies and family before being arrested and transported to the Duval County Jail.
Ramirez said Perez spent about 7 hours in custody before being released, as required by law. During this time, the sheriff received calls from Perez's family asking them to keep him in custody through the weekend while they attempted to find a rehabilitation facility.
When Perez was released on Thursday, he did not want to leave the jail and wanted to remain in custody. For almost an hour, deputies and jail staff spoke with Perez about going home or to the hospital.
"I spoke with one of Perez's parents who refused to pick him up and the other parent didn't answer any phone calls from us," Ramirez said.
Deputies offered to drive Perez back to Realitos or to the hospital, but he refused both options. He again became disorderly and verbally abusive, resulting in his re-arrest and return to a jail cell.
Thursday night, jail staff found Perez unresponsive and began CPR until emergency medical services arrived. EMS transported him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The sheriff said they reviewed jail surveillance footage and have found no evidence of any abuse of Perez by deputies or jail staff.
The Texas Rangers have been notified and are conducting a preliminary investigation. No deputies or jail staff have been placed on administrative leave.
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