Bexar County Jail inmate dies after ingesting meth, BCSO says

Julian Dena, 34, died Thursday at Baptist Medical Center

Julian Dena died at Baptist Hospital after he ingested methamphetamine in jail, BCSO officials said. (KSAT)

SAN ANTONIO – A 34-year-old Bexar County Jail inmate has died after he was hospitalized for ingesting drugs.

Julian Dena died at Baptist Medical Center on Thursday afternoon after his family decided to take him off life support, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office officials said.

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Dena was being booked into the jail Monday when a deputy searching the inmate found him chewing on a substance that was later determined to be methamphetamine. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The sheriff’s office said Dena’s death will be investigated as a custodial death.

“As per standard procedure, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (CID), Internal Affairs (IA), and the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) are conducting an investigation into this death,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Dena was arrested on a warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm.


About the Authors

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.

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