Juan Mendoza
Juan Salgado Mendoza, 53, died on April 20, 2020, at Stroger Hospital after being held at Cook County Jail in Chicago and hospitalized with COVID-19 since April 13. The Cook County Sheriff's Office first said the cause of death was pending autopsy, and a later sheriff's report listed acute hypoxic respiratory failure due to COVID-19, with morbid obesity as a contributing condition. Advocates and lawyers quoted in The Chicago Reporter argued that crowding in the jail made social distancing impossible for people with the virus. He was one of three people who died at the jail between April 17 and April 20.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (neglect alleged). The sheriff's office attributes the death to COVID-19 and lists morbid obesity as a contributing condition, while lawyers and activists argue that crowding in the jail made social distancing impossible for detainees with the virus.
Reported by: Cook County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); lawyers and activists quoted in news coverage.