Texas Rangers Investigate Inmate’s Suicide At The Kaufman County Jail

On April 12, 2022, 51-year-old Chauncey Toombs was apprehended by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office. He had been charged with violating a protective order.

Now, the Texas Rangers are investigating Toomb’s death. This comes after he was discovered unresponsive in his cell in the Kaufman County Jail. He was still being booked in when died.

Reports indicate that Toombs said many things that indicated that he was suicidal. He also showed mental health issues, and had medical problems.

On April 13, 2022, documents state that Toombs seemed to have hung himself with “gauze fashioned as ligature from the handicap assistance bar in his cell.”

When jail workers discovered Toombs unresponsive, they instantly began CPR and called emergency crews. Toombs was taken to a medical facility where he was declared deceased. Later, his body was transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office so that an autopsy could be conducted.

Toomb’s protective order was in connection to a family violence matter. When he was arrested on April 12, it is said that he inflicted a wound upon himself on his arm. He then needed medical assistance. Reports say that Toombs utilized his bandages to make the ligature.

“If Mr. Toombs was suicidal, there would be no excuse to leave him in a cell…without continuous observation. Prisoners in Texas jails use clothing, sheets, mattresses, phone cords, and other items as ligatures to commit suicide,” stated Dean Malone, a Dallas lawyer.

The investigation into Mr. Toomb’s death is continuing.