A family is looking for answers after a man died while being released from Harris County Jail. His name was Alexis Cardenas.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The Texas Rangers are investigating what happened after a man died while being escorted out of the Harris County Jail.
The man’s grieving family said they need someone to tell them why and how it happened.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office officials said Alexis Cardenas was being escorted out of the jail, but for some reason, he resisted and forced his way back into a secure area. His family said they think he might have been having a mental episode, which caused him not to want to leave jail.
Memories are what Melissa Cardenas said she has of 32-year-old Alexis Cardenas. The cousins grew up more like siblings.
“The protector … the one that always wanted us to be together … the one that would show up with flowers on Mother’s Day,” she said.
The fond memories came to an abrupt end when the family received the devastating call last Tuesday. It’s been a hard week for his family, including his four children and wife.
“We were told that he has suffered a medical emergency, and he was walking out of Harris County,” Melissa said.
Melissa said her cousin was taken to jail on Sunday, July 6, after approaching an officer and telling him he was scared. Melissa said that the officer ended up running his name and found a failure to appear in court for a 10-year-old traffic citation. Alexis was put in jail. Melissa said the fear is probably why he didn’t want to be released.
“We want to know what happened. I mean, being in the dark and not knowing … did he suffer? We don’t know anything,” she said.
HCSO officials said that after he was released, detention officers were escorting Alexis out of the building when he resisted. Authorities said that even after being Tased, Alexis made it back into a secure area. He was detained by multiple officers who later found him to be unresponsive. CPR was performed, but he later died.
“I don’t think Alexis was 100% OK mentally — (he was having) a nervous breakdown. I don’t understand because what person in their right mind wouldn’t want to leave jail? It just makes no sense,” Melissa said.
She said her cousin was healthy, but is left wondering if anxiety brought on by a previous freak accident that severed four of his fingers factored into his mental state. They hope the autopsy findings provide answers.
“We have a body, but not the story behind it. The person that can tell us what happened isn’t here anymore,” Melissa said.
The family created a GoFundMe account to help with funeral costs. The Texas Rangers did confirm they are investigating, but aren’t able to release any additional information.