BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A Bexar County jailer was fired after records show he aided in the killing of an inmate, and another inmate is accused of killing his cellmate.
Eleven inmates have died in the Bexar County jail in 2025, according to KSAT Investigates’ count. In 2024, 13 inmates died in the jail.
Castaneda, 40, died on Jan. 30 from sepsis linked to ANCA-associated vasculitis, which the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office determined as natural causes.
Castaneda was found unresponsive in the jail’s infirmary, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. He had been jailed on charges of arson with intent to commit damage and assault causing bodily injury - family/household.
Robert Stephens
Stephens, 50, died by suicide on March 1, according to the ME’s office. Records show that he was arrested in February on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.
Green, 28, died on April 18 after having a medical episode at the jail, according to BCSO.
Deputies said he had been experiencing withdrawal symptoms from a controlled substance.
The ME’s office ruled Green’s death was caused by methamphetamine toxicity and ruled it accidental.
A Bexar County jailer and four inmates are facing criminal charges in connection with Bazan’s death at the jail on April 30, records show.
The ME’s office said Bazan, 46, died from blunt force injuries. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Court records show Clemente Lopez, 20, was charged with murder in May. Two weeks later, BCSO said he was re-arrested for engaging in organized criminal activity.
According to an arrest warrant, a group of inmates “coordinated effort to assault Bazan” and “instructed Lopez to open the door.”
Lopez admitted to investigators he saw three other inmates assault Bazan by kicking his face and smashing Bazan’s head on the concrete, according to the warrant.
“Lopez was observing the entire assault from outside (the jail cell),” the warrant states.
Bazan had been in custody on charges of evading arrest and possession of a controlled substance. His family told KSAT those charges should not have cost him his life.
Inmates Rudy Bueno, Rodrigo Martinez III, Gabriel Benjamin Garcia and Gilbert Suarez, were also charged in connection with Bazan’s death.
Lopez and three of the inmates are expected to appear in court in January 2026, records show.
Inmate Tommy Lucero was charged in connection with Parker’s June 19 death after BCSO said he assaulted Parker, 48, in a jail cell.
A facility nurse who was conducting follow-up medical checks with inmates saw Lucero attacking Parker, BCSO said. The nurse notified the unit officer, triggering an emergency response.
Parker was unresponsive and was taken to the hospital, where he was placed on life support.
His family decided to remove Parker from life support, BCSO said.
The ME’s office said Parker’s cause of death was complications of blunt force trauma to the head.
SAPD originally arrested Lucero for burglary of a building. After the deadly attack, BCSO charged him with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury.
In November, court records show Lucero was found incompetent to stand trial.
Ginez, 36, died on June 25 after BCSO said she had a medical episode.
BCSO said Ginez, who was booked earlier that week, was experiencing drug withdrawal symptoms during intake and was receiving detox treatment, the sheriff’s office said.
The ME’s office confirmed Ginez’s cause of death as methamphetamine toxicity and ruled it accidental.
Days after BCSO said a deputy prevented Lastra’s suicide, KSAT confirmed that she died on June 26 at a hospital.
Jail records show that Lastra was arrested in April 2025 after being charged with assault on a peace officer.
The medical examiner’s office ruled her death a suicide.
Aleman, 48, died by suicide on July 15 at the jail days after being arrested in a double murder, BCSO said.
Aleman was charged with capital murder in connection with a shooting in the parking lot of a Southeast Side H-E-B that left two people dead Sunday night, San Antonio police said.
An arrest warrant obtained by KSAT identified the victims as Beatriz Guzman, 41, and Jeronimo Ramirez, 31.
Guzman was Aleman’s girlfriend and Ramirez was Aleman’s nephew, the warrant said.
Lira, 33, died on Sept. 1 at the Bexar County jail, according to BCSO. A deputy found him unresponsive in his cell.
Lira was booked into the Bexar County jail on July 31 on an assault of a family or household member charge, the sheriff’s office said in the release.
Days after his death, Lira’s family told KSAT that they had questions about the medical issue that caused his death and how often he was being checked on.
“He survived a brain tumor, and it scarred him for the rest of his life,” said Lira’s mother, Oralia Sandoval. “He had a full man’s body, but the mind of a child.”
At the time of his death, BCSO said they believe preexisting health conditions may have worsened the medical episode Lira experienced.
The medical examiner’s office ruled his death as natural, and said it was caused by severe liver scarring related to fatty liver disease and obesity.
Ryan James Postoak, 34, was pronounced dead at the jail on Sept. 17 after having a medical emergency, according to BCSO.
Lira was booked into the Bexar County jail on July 31 on an assault of a family or household member charge, the sheriff’s office said in the release.
The medical examiner’s office said they are still working to determine Postoak’s cause and manner of death.
Two days after being arrested for criminal trespassing, BCSO said a unit officer found Zamion unresponsive in her bunk.
She died on Dec. 7, the sheriff’s office said.
While in custody, Zamion received medical care from the on-site University Health Medical Staff, the release said.
The medical examiner’s office has not determined her cause and manner of death.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.