HOUSTON – A grand jury returned a no bill Tuesday for six detention officers involved in a physical altercation with a 32-year-old man at the Harris County Jail who later died after his release.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said its Internal Affairs Division will present the case to the Administrative Disciplinary Committee to determine whether any policy violations occurred and, if so, recommend appropriate disciplinary action.
A sergeant and four detention officers involved in the incident remain on temporary assignments that do not involve contact with inmates.
What happened
Alexis Jovany Cardenas died while being escorted out of the Harris County Jail on July 8, 2025.
Cardenas had been in custody since Sunday, July 6, when the Houston Police Department arrested him on multiple outstanding municipal misdemeanor warrants.
Video footage from the jail shows a detention officer opening a door for Cardenas to leave at about 12:50 a.m. on July 8. Cardenas appears to point at his phone before a struggle begins.
During the altercation, Cardenas was dragged, and his pants were removed. One detention officer was pulled to the ground, and another deployed a Taser. Authorities said Cardenas then forced his way into another secure area of the jail where other inmates were awaiting release.
Several detention officers ultimately restrained him on the ground for about eight minutes before realizing he was unresponsive.
Cardenas was transported to St. Joseph Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:57 a.m.
The medical examiner ruled Cardenas’ manner of death a homicide. The report lists the primary cause of death as cardiac dysrhythmia. It also notes the toxic effects of multiple drugs in his system, along with physical and electrical restraint, as contributing factors.