Justin Poteete, 41, Died After Being Found Unresponsive in Lassen County Jail Cell
LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (January 2, 2026) – An inmate identified as Justin Poteete has died in custody at the Lassen County jail.
Lassen County officials are saying that the incident began around 11:16 AM on Thursday. A deputy found Justin Poteete unresponsive inside of a jail cell.
Prior to being found, the officer attempted to perform a welfare check to make sure that he was all right. Jail staff began life-saving measures to help the inmate.
Despite those efforts, Justin Poteete was pronounced dead around 11:52 a.m. that same day. Authorities are continuing to investigate what may have taken place.
Investigators said that they do not suspect that self-harm or foul play was involved in the incident.
Liability for Lassen County Inmate Deaths
Jails have a legal obligation to protect inmates from reasonably foreseeable sources of harm. To that end, jails must provide inmates with all of the medical care and treatment that they need. Failing to provide inmates with adequate medical care is considered a form of cruel and unusual punishment and therefore unconstitutional. There are many ways that jails may have failed to adequately care for an inmate.
- Welfare Checks: Jail deputies must perform periodic wellness checks on all of the inmates in their care. Certain inmates may need more routine checks or extensive monitoring. Despite this, many inmates are only occasionally checked on by staff.
- Medications: Jail deputies may fail to provide inmates with all of the medications that they need.
- Inmate Separation: A jail may have failed to adequately separate inmates who are at a known risk of harm from other violent inmates.
- Emergency Care: In many situations, a jail may not provide inmates with the emergency medical care that they need.
Not every instance of harm in a jail setting will rise to the level of a constitutional violation. What matters is whether or not jail officials were deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of an inmate. Deliberate indifference could come in many different forms, and it is very much contingent upon the unique set of facts for any given incident. Having said that, the family of any person who died in a jail setting may be able to seek some measure of accountability through a wrongful death claim.
Steps to Take After Lassen County Inmate Deaths
Far too many people die in custody every year in the United States. According to Health Affairs, “In 2019, there were approximately ten million admissions to more than 3,000 US jails—facilities that had become increasingly deadly in the prior decades. Between 2000 and 2019, jail mortality rose by approximately 11 percent. Although incarceration is widely viewed as a health hazard, relationships between jail conditions and jail deaths are understudied.” Certain action should be taken after any inmate dies in custody.
- Medical Records: All of the medical records and autopsy reports related to the incident should be collected.
- Surveillance Footage: All of the jail footage that may have captured what happened should be carefully reviewed.
- Jail Records: Every jail keeps detailed records about the inmates in their care. These records should be carefully reviewed.
- Legal Support: An investigation should be conducted into the incident to determine whether or not constitutional violations contributed to the death.
Jails are often quick to claim that the deaths and their care are natural. But the fact of the matter is that this designation is often misleading. Many deaths listed as natural actually involve some amount of neglect. To make matters worse, jails will virtually never accept responsibility if someone dies in their care. This is why it is so important that inmate deaths are properly investigated by an outside party.
Investigating Lassen County Inmate Deaths
We at Carrazco Law extend our deepest condolences to the family of Justin Poteete. Any person who may have more information about what happened should reach out to investigators. There needs to be a thorough investigation into what went wrong. The sheer number of inmates who have died in custody across California jails in recent months remains deeply concerning.
Do you need more information about an inmate death at the Lassen County Jail? Our team of civil rights advocates is here for you. We are committed to helping all people understand their legal rights and holding law enforcement accountable for their unconstitutional actions. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any particular incident, we are here to serve your needs. You can reach out to us anytime at (800) 541-3244.
