Attorney calls for changes into investigation of deaths of 3 Harris County jail inmates
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Nearly a week later, there's still no cause for how three Harris County Jail inmates died.
According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, two passed away last Sunday, and the third one, Ronald Pate, died on Monday morning.
His family now wants answers.
"He had no medical issues whatsoever. None," Jeana Pate, aunt of Ronald Pate, said.
Court filings show Pate was 35 years old, and he had been in jail for 13 days on charges of possession of a controlled substance.
The sheriff's office tells ABC13 that all three inmates died at a hospital and the cases have been reported to the Texas Commission of Jail Standards. HPD is leading the investigation since state law requires an outside agency to take charge.
An attorney representing Pate's family is calling for a different department to handle it.
"The problem with the Houston Police Department is that they are local and they arrest more than half the people in the Harris County Jail so they have some connection. It shouldn't be the Houston police investigating. It should go back to the Texas Rangers," Randall Kallinen said.
He's also asking the sheriff's office to release videos of when Pate was at the jail.
"We need to find out what exactly happened. We don't file a lawsuit just because something happens and we don't like it. We need to get the facts, find out now what happened and to see if somebody did something wrong or he didn't receive the care he should've," Kim Wedemeier, friend of the Pate family, said.
"It would be great if we could figure out what happened to him and get to the bottom of this. Not only him but the other inmates too. Why is this happening?" Wedemeier asked.
The sheriff's office reports 10 people have died in custody in 2025, including an inmate who was outsourced to Louisiana.
