NEWS
Inmate dies at hospital after medical episode at county jail
45-year-old man is the eighth person to die while in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center this year
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An inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center died at a hospital Sunday, marking the jail鈥檚 eighth in-custody death of the year.
The man, James Gonzales, 45, was found in medical distress at 11:12 p.m. on Friday, six days after he was booked into jail, said MDC spokesperson Daniel Trujillo in a news release Monday. In response to the emergency, the jail鈥檚 staff and medical team rendered 鈥渟uccessful life-saving measures.鈥�
Approximately 35 minutes after his medical episode, Gonzales was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital where he died two days later.
Local authorities are investigating the jail death, including the Bernalillo County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and MDC Office of Professional Standards. The New Mexico Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of Gonzales鈥� death.
Gonzales is the eighth inmate to die while incarcerated at MDC in 2026. The sixth and seventh were 18-year-old Derrick Benavidez and 36-year-old Julian Wilgress, who died within 48 hours of each other in late April. What caused their deaths is still under investigation and has not been publicly released.
Gillian Barkhurst is a general assignment reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.
