DALLAS – The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation into the death of an inmate.
Bernardo Pena was fatally injured over the weekend in a fight with another inmate. It is the first time in the county’s history that an inmate in the Lew Sterrett Jail has died at the hands of another inmate.
Pena had been in prison since Sept. 23 because of a parole violation. He had a criminal history of car theft, burglary and drugs and was being held in an eight person cell in the west tower of the jail.
Investigators said at 2 a.m. Saturday he reportedly fought with another inmate. About 12 hours later jail staff noticed he appeared to be having a seizure.
Pena was taken to Parkland hospital where he died.
His family said they were not notified of his death until mid-afternoon Sunday.
“We want answers. We want to know what happened. We want to know why did it occur and why did it take so long for him to get medical attention,” said his brother Richard Pena. “If there’s somebody’s wrong doing, we want him to… we want justice.”
Pena’s family acknowledges his trouble with the law, but said he did not deserve to die.
The sheriff has not yet commented on what happened between the times of the fight and when Pena was noticed by jailers.
However, the department said it does plan to file charges in the case.
