Doña Ana County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating an unattended death at the Doña Ana County Detention Center after a detainee was found unresponsive in the medical unit.
Phillip Carrillo, 38, was arrested on Aug. 9 by Las Cruces Police officers for DWI. He had allegedly crashed the vehicle he was driving and was not wearing a seat belt.
When officers transported him to the detention center for incarceration, Carrillo was refused admission to the facility by staff because of injuries he received in the crash. He was subsequently taken to a Las Cruces-area hospital where he was treated, released, and then booked into the detention center in the medical unit shortly after midnight on Aug. 10.
At approximately 11 p.m. Wednesday night, a nurse at the detention center checked on Carrillo and reported that he appeared to be stable. When she returned a couple of hours later – at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday – Carrillo was unresponsive and did not show any signs of life.
Medics responded to the unit and made every attempt to revive Carrillo, but they were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
Jail supervisors say Carrillo was housed alone, and the entrance to his cell was under video surveillance. Foul play is not suspected, but the case remains under investigation.
Carrillo’s body was sent to the University of New Mexico Office of the Medical Examiner in Albuquerque for autopsy.
Information from Doña Ana County