The death of a 67-year-old man who was being held at the Castro County Jail is now under investigation by the Texas Rangers after authorities determined that his death should be classified as an in-custody death. Steven S. Rivera was arrested in late August and remained in custody until he developed a medical condition that required emergency treatment. Although a justice of the peace ordered that he be released on a personal recognizance bond because of his health, Rivera was already unresponsive and unable to complete the paperwork before being transferred to a hospital, where he later died.
According to a report filed with the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Rivera was booked into the Castro County Jail on Aug. 29 after being arrested by Dimmitt police on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender. During the booking process, jail personnel reportedly did not observe obvious signs that Rivera was suffering from an illness. Because he relied on a cane to walk, officials placed him in a single-person cell. The report does not indicate that Rivera requested medical treatment during the period he was held at the jail.
The situation changed on Sept. 7, when jail personnel noticed that Rivera needed medical attention. An ambulance was called, and he was transported from the jail to Plains Memorial Hospital in Dimmitt at approximately 8:01 p.m. His medical condition was serious enough that medical personnel subsequently decided he needed to be transferred to BSA Hospital in Amarillo. That transfer occurred later the same day.
While Rivera was being treated, Castro County Justice of the Peace Mary Ewing reportedly ordered that he be released on a personal recognizance bond because of his medical condition. However, the release could not be completed because Rivera was unresponsive and unable to sign the required paperwork. As a result, despite the bond order, authorities continued to treat him as being in custody.
Rivera remained hospitalized until Sept. 21, when he died at BSA Hospital in Amarillo at approximately 2:48 p.m. About an hour later, Potter County Justice of the Peace Gary Jackson contacted Castro County officials to notify them of Rivera’s death. Jackson also informed Castro County Sheriff Salvador Rivera that he considered the death an in-custody death. That determination triggered the involvement of the Texas Rangers, who were contacted to investigate the circumstances surrounding Rivera’s death.
The investigation includes an autopsy that was conducted in Lubbock on Sept. 23. At the request of a Texas Ranger, a Castro County deputy attended the autopsy. The official autopsy results were still pending in the report, meaning the precise medical circumstances surrounding Rivera’s death had not yet been fully established.
A preliminary report submitted to the Office of the Attorney General on Sept. 23 listed the manner of death as natural. The report identified several possible contributing medical conditions, including blocked arteries, possible pneumonia, suspected heart disease and heart failure, as well as failure to thrive resulting in malnutrition. These conditions can be associated with severe physical weakness, fatigue, breathing difficulties, confusion and significant physical deterioration, particularly when a person has experienced prolonged illness and inadequate nutrition.
The preliminary medical information is important because the Rangers’ investigation is focused on the circumstances of Rivera’s death while he was considered to be in custody. The classification of the death as in-custody does not itself establish that jail personnel caused or contributed to Rivera’s death. Instead, it requires authorities to examine the circumstances surrounding the person’s detention and death.
Rivera’s arrest also involved a previous criminal conviction. According to information contained in the state sex offender registry, he had been convicted in 2021 of sexually assaulting an adult woman in San Antonio. His first registration for that offense was recorded on Sept. 18, 2021, through the Castro County Sheriff’s Office. The registry shows a subsequent verification date in October 2025.
At the time of his most recent arrest, Rivera’s reported address was in Hereford, Texas, rather than Castro County. His criminal history also included arrests connected to alcohol-related offenses in several Texas communities, including Burleson, Amarillo, Deaf Smith County and San Antonio. According to records maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety, his most recent previous arrest before the 2026 case occurred in September 2022, when San Antonio police arrested him on a criminal-trespass allegation.
The investigation comes against the backdrop of previous compliance issues involving the Castro County Jail. Records show that the facility had previously been found out of compliance with regulations established by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, including findings recorded in February 2025 and November 2020. However, records indicate that the jail was in compliance with state regulations at the time of Rivera’s death.
That distinction is significant as investigators review the circumstances surrounding Rivera’s detention and medical treatment. Previous compliance problems do not by themselves establish a connection to Rivera’s death, and the available report does not state that the earlier violations contributed to his medical condition or death.
The Texas Rangers’ investigation is therefore expected to focus on the timeline of Rivera’s incarceration, the observations made by jail personnel, his medical condition, the decision to call an ambulance, his transfer between hospitals and the circumstances surrounding the bond order that could not be completed. The pending autopsy findings could provide additional information about the underlying medical causes.
For now, authorities have classified the death as natural based on the preliminary information available, while the investigation remains ongoing. The final autopsy results and findings from the Texas Rangers could provide a clearer account of Rivera’s health, the progression of his illness and what occurred during the period between his arrest and death.
Rivera was arrested on Aug. 29, hospitalized on Sept. 7 and died on Sept. 21. Because he remained legally in custody when he died despite the attempted release on bond, officials treated the case as an in-custody death and referred it for further investigation. The Texas Rangers’ review and the pending autopsy results are expected to determine whether any additional facts emerge regarding the circumstances of his death.
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