Debra Ruiz said her son Alex Chavez was the backbone of her family. At age 32, he was a son, a brother and a surrogate father figure. He was a protector who wasn’t afraid to play Barbies with his niece.
“He had the biggest heart,” she said. “But he was a typical human — and we all have flaws.”
Chavez struggled with drug addiction. He was arrested on Aug. 5, 2022, for charges related to shoplifting and possession of drugs and weapons. A week later, he was dead.
Struggling with severe withdrawal symptoms, Chavez acquired 250 fentanyl pills while in Maricopa County’s Lower Buckeye Jail. He attempted to take his own life by snorting seven of the pills and was taken to a hospital.
Upon his recovery and return to the jail, Chavez was given a suicide prevention pamphlet and put back in the general population rather than being placed on suicide watch.
“How could you just hand him a flyer and send him back to his cell when you know how much pain he’s in?” Ruiz wondered. “These people dropped the ball on so many levels.”
A day later, while Chavez was left unattended in a cell for more than an hour, he attempted suicide again, this time by hanging. He was taken to the hospital again. This time, seven days after his arrest, he died from his injuries.