Fernando Martinez Jr: Schizophrenic man’s family files lawsuit after he starves to death in Vegas jail

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: A grieving family has filed a lawsuit alleging that their mentally ill relative, Fernando Martinez Jr, died of starvation while held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas.

The suit, filed on December 29, 2023 by Sonia Esparza, Martinez Jr's mother, contends that negligence on the part of jail staff and Wellpath LLC, the company responsible for medical care at the detention center, resulted in the 33-year-old man's untimely death.

Timeline of Fernando Martinez Jr's tragic death 

Martinez Jr, who suffered from schizophrenia, psychosis, paranoia, and undiagnosed depression, was arrested on December 3, 2022, by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for making terrorist threats. Court documents reveal that he weighed 220 pounds at the time of his arrest but had plummeted to 156 pounds by the time of his death on February 15, 2023.

The lawsuit asserts that despite being aware of Martinez Jr's mental health issues and prior incarcerations, the defendants failed to provide adequate housing, treatment, monitoring, and protection during his confinement. His reported refusal to eat due to paranoia about poisoned food, coupled with instances of self-induced vomiting, allegedly went unaddressed by jail staff.

"Martinez Jr died because of starvation and dehydration, essentially inanition, caused by Defendants' lack of adequate care and deliberate disregard for Martinez Jr's physical and mental condition," the lawsuit claims, as per Daily Mail.

The family contends that on the day of his death he exhibited alarming symptoms, including stumbling and an abnormal appearance in his eyes, but received no prompt attention.

Fernando Martinez Jr was ordered to be sent to mental health facility

The lawsuit further alleges that Martinez Jr was not supposed to be held at the Clark County Detention Center at the time of his death.

On January 18, 2023, he was declared not competent and ordered to be transferred to a mental health facility. The failure to execute this order raises additional concerns about the management of his case.

Wellpath, the company responsible for medical care at the detention center, has faced scrutiny in the past regarding its involvement in jailhouse deaths. A 2019 CNN investigation linked Wellpath to over 70 deaths in a five-year period, adding a troubling dimension to the current legal proceedings.

Sonia's lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, survival damages, and wrongful death damages, with the amount to be determined during trial.