Family of Mason Yancy, who died in the Tarrant County Jail, want commissioners to remove sheriff

Yancy's family sent a letter calling for the firing of Sheriff Bill Waybourn and for the state to investigate jail operations. They said Yancy had diabetes and didn't believe he received proper treatment.

It's been four months since Mason Yancy, 31, died while in custody at the Tarrant County Jail. As his family and friends continue to mourn his loss, they're also pressing for answers in his death.

Over the weekend, the familywith several demands to not only remove Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, but also the head of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

"What we have here is a cascading failure of policies and procedures, not just the Tarrant County, but at the state," said Darren Yancy, Mason's older brother, who is leading the charge.

He described his younger brother as a 'son', since they were two decades apart. He said Yancy spent a lot of time with his kids and will be remembered for his personality.

“He had an infectious sense of humor he was one of these kinds of kids he was always cutting up always kept people laughing," Darren described. 

According to the family, Yancy had diabetes, and Darren said his younger brother had used marijuana and other substances to cope with the pain.

On Dec. 23, 2024, Grapevine Police arrested Yancy, who was charged with a drug offense.

“We believe the night he was arrested he was having some type of medical episode, because he was at a vape shop, he collapsed at the vape shop, they called 911, he recovered, got in his truck, apparently passed out again, collapsed again, that’s when the police found him," explained Darren.

He said his brother was first taken to Baylor Scott & White. The family said they're still trying to get his records from the hospital.

The next day, Christmas Eve, Yancy was booked into the Tarrant County Jail.

He died three days later, on Dec. 27, after collapsing.

"We think he was medically mismanaged, and it may be worse than that. We're going to have to, unfortunately, probably file a lawsuit to get some of the discovery, because they're not turning over anything to us at this time," Darren explained.

He said they also had a private autopsy completed and Darren said the report stated, "basically came up that my brother had a heart attack due to diabetic shock."

The family has accused the jail of not giving Yancy proper medication for his diabetes.

"We cannot verify that he got any insulin on the 26th or 27th. There's been several interviews with inmates who say the last two days that there was possibly some withholding of medication. My brother was a cut up until the second he died, and that maybe they thought he was faking," said Darren.

He said his brother was using a walker in the last two days of his life, and fell several times.

"Everybody was saying the same, that he was cutting up and joking with the guards and medical personnel up until the moment he collapsed, and a lot of the inmates said they thought he was faking. He wasn't faking. He was just, that's just who he was," said Darren.

In January during an emotional commissioner's court meeting, Sheriff Waybourn spoke and gave more details about the in-custody death, even though it remains under investigation.

The sheriff described Yancy as a 'high priority inmate' for medical reasons and was seeing two nurses when he collapsed on Dec. 27. Waybourn said staff from JPS (John Peter Smith Hospital), the fire department, and MedStar worked on Yancy for 40 minutes before a doctor declared him dead.

"It's very unfortunate that he passed, but when he died, he got the best healthcare that we could deliver at the moment," said Waybourn in the January meeting.

The family believes Yancy should never have been in the jail; instead should have remained in the hospital.

”The sheriff said he was a 'high priority' inmate, but he had 9 medical visits in 4 days, that just shocks me as to why he wasn't put in the hospital," expressed Darren who also gave a passionate speech at the January meeting. 

He said family and friends both received messages from Yancy before he died that he needed to go to the hospital.

"During that communication from the jail, he was begging me to get him out of jail, saying that he would need to get to the hospital," said Stephen Vasquez, a best friend of Yancy, at the January meeting.

Darren said his stepmother also received a similar message 30 minutes before Yancy died, stating he couldn't feel his legs.

Family and friends spoke about bailing Yancy out, but thought it might have been a good learning lesson at the time.

"We didn't know all the facts at the time," said Darren.

Those close to Yancy are transparent that Yancy had made some past mistakes. According to Dallas County court records, Yancy served four months for a driving while intoxicated charge in 2018.

The family said it was a 'positive experience ' when he served his time at the Dallas County jail because they discovered Yancy had diabetes, got him on insulin and his diet under control.

Those close to Yancy said they thought he would receive treatment in Tarrant County and never imagined Yancy would end up dead.

Since 2017, there have been more than 70 in-custody deaths at the Tarrant County Jail.

It's why asking them to add a formal agenda item and vote to remove the sheriff.

"This person can't stay in that position. He's got blood on his hands," said Darren. "He's got to be held accountable. I'm not saying he needs to go to prison. I'm saying he needs to be removed as Sheriff."

"We're talking over 70 deaths since he's been in office, my brother was number nine last year in a population of less than 5,000. Harris County had over 10,000 population and the same number of deaths," he continued.

When asked for a comment regarding the investigation and the demands to remove Waybourn, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office responded in an email, "The Yancy case is on-going and we will refrain from commenting on it until its conclusion. Sheriff Waybourn is an elected official and the voters made their choice in 2024. He will continue to focus on our great agency for the next four years.“

Darren said if nothing changes, he plans to file a lawsuit against the county. He also wants other families of those whose loved ones died while in custody to reach out.

"I'm not here to beat on law enforcement, they make mistakes. What we have to do is be willing to come forward and admit mistakes and not chop their head off and try to find a way," said Darren.

He also wrote a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking to remove Brandon Wood, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, TCJS, alleging they are not in compliance with the Sandra Bland Act. It went into effect in 2017 to ensure the commission seeks independent investigators for in-custody deaths at jails. it found the state was not following the law.

"It is the Yancy Family’s position that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards is not functioning properly through Wood’s directive and has allowed Waybourn to remain compliant in the face of heinous deaths such as Mason Yancy, Chasity Congious, and Anthony Johnson, Jr. This despite such deaths running in contradiction to
Chapter 511 rules for the Commission on Jail Standards. The Yancy Family believes the sheer number and manner of deaths call into question his competence to be Sheriff of Tarrant County,"

The TCJS did not immediately respond to an email request regarding the Yancy family's letter and demands.