Bexar County will pay $2.4 million in settlement with family of inmate killed in jail

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County has paid a $2.4 million settlement to the family of an inmate killed at the jail in August 2021.

Curtis Smith, 66, was killed by a fellow inmate who used a sock and bandana to choke and suffocate him in a cell.

Mark Anthony Wong is charged with murder. In January 2022, Wong was found incompetent to stand trial and was committed to the State Psychiatric Hospital in Vernon.

Smith had been arrested on a warrant for assault following a welfare check after he was found wandering the streets near South Side Lions Park. Wong had been arrested for allegedly shooting his roommate in an attempt to kill him.

They were placed in the same cell with a third prisoner and all remained in their street clothes, including the bandana Smith was wearing that was used to strangle him.

The lawsuit alleged that the jail failed to properly classify inmates by conducting risk assessments.

Shortly after Smith was found dead, Wong was moved to another cell where he is accused of attacking another inmate and biting his nose, the lawsuit said.

According to constitutional rights attorney Dean Malone, the case was litigated for months and the parties reached an agreement in February. The money was paid by the county’s insurance company and the final payment was made this month.

“The Curtis children are pleased to have brought this case to a resolution,” Malone said. “There is no amount of money that could ever compensate them for the loss of their father. Hopefully, however, the lawsuit has caught the attention of those who can make changes at the Bexar County Jail. No reasonable person would have put Curtis in that situation. Locking Curtis in a cell with Mr. Wong would almost certainly result in serious injury or death, and that is exactly what happened. Curtis paid the ultimate price.”

KSAT reached out to BCSO and Bexar County for comment.

View the 2021 KSAT report below:

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