Tarrant County jail inmate dies in hospital’s ICU. He is the 10th death this year.

A 56-year-old terminally ill man died Tuesday in John Peter Smith Hospital’s ICU while he was in the custody of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.

Kelvin Lavon Brown was arrested in May on a charge of intentionally leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

Brown was taken from the Tarrant County Jail to John Peter Smith Hospital on Oct. 28, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. He was being treated at JPS for Stage 4 cancer when he passed away.

“Every death is tragic and we do the best we can to make sure our inmates have the best conditions possible while in our jail,” Sheriff Bill Waybourn said in a news release. “Unfortunately, this inmate was terminally ill when he came into our facility.”

Brown is the 10th person to die in the jail’s custody this year.

Alvie Johnson Jr., 74, was found by jailers Jan. 1 with a head injury. Johnson was unconscious and taken to JPS Hospital, where he was placed on life support, according to the Attorney General’s Office. He died two days later.

James Carrell New, 80, died Feb. 19 after spending a month in the jail. He was transferred to JPS on Jan. 28 for hypothermia with chest pain. He tested positive for COVID-19 a week earlier. The medical examiner declined to perform an autopsy.

Also in February, Edgar Villatoro-Alvarez, 40, of Austin, died in the ICU after being transferred from the jail. A cause of death is not yet listed on the medical examiner’s website.

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has not released any information about Villatoro-Alvarez’s death. Law enforcement agencies must provide information about in-custody deaths to the Attorney General’s Office. The filed report says only that Villatoro-Alvarez was taken to JPS after “a medical emergency was called.” The Fort Worth Police Department is investigating his death.

On June 17, Oh Young Park, 54, died by suicide in the jail. Park is the fourth man to die by hanging while inside the jail since 2020.

A week later, Thomas Simpkins, 70, died of heart failure. He had a previous diagnosis, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Richard Marta, 50, was arrested in August and taken to the hospital after he contracted COVID-19. He was treated for chest pains and hypertension, according to the Attorney General’s Office. On Aug. 26, he had heart surgery was listed in critical condition after. His family made the decision to remove his ventilator, according to the report.

In July, Trelynn Wormley, 23, was found unresponsive in his cell. Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn told KXAS-TV that he died of an apparent fentanyl overdose, the station reported. Fort Worth police is investigating his death.

Lyonell Mitchell Jr., 72, died in JPS’s ICU on Sept. 14, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. A cause of death is not yet listed.

Kenneth Ray Perry, 65, was taken to jail on Sept. 27 on a criminal trespassing charge. He was found unresponsive in his cell just before 6 a.m. on Sept. 29, according to a report recently filed with the Texas Attorney General. He died two days later at the hospital.