Inmate Dies After Smoking Unknown Substance in Harris County Jail

An inmate at the Harris County Jail, 26-year-old Valen Long, was pronounced deceased at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at 1:48 a.m., following an apparent medical emergency after smoking an unknown substance.

Preliminary evidence suggests that around 12:30 a.m., Long was among several inmates who were smoking an unidentified substance. Inmates alerted detention officers when Long lost consciousness. He was transported by ambulance to LBJ Hospital, where he was later declared deceased. A second inmate experienced a similar medical emergency at the same time, was briefly hospitalized, and has since been released back to the jail.

Valen Long had been held in the Harris County Jail for 42 days on a felony criminal mischief charge filed by the Houston Police Department.

Long’s death has been reported to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The Houston Police Department is investigating the death, as required by state law for all jail deaths to be investigated by an outside law enforcement agency. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division is conducting its own investigation to determine if all applicable policies and procedures were followed, a standard procedure following an in-custody death.

The official cause of death will be determined by an autopsy conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.