South Bend family still grapples with man's drug overdose death in St. Joseph County Jail
Sept. 5, 2025
SOUTH BEND — It was 7 a.m, Saturday, March 15 when St. Joseph County officers appeared at Sherry Hughes’ door.
"Is my son OK?" she remembers asking about her son, Jordan Sanders, who was arrested Dec. 16, accused of stealing from a Little Caesar's in South Bend.
He had died, they told her.
Sherry Hughes begged to be taken to her son, even asking to be arrested so she could see him, she said. Officers declined, saying the jail was a secure facility, she told The Tribune. She didn’t see her son until that Monday at the funeral home.
A toxicology report for Jordan Sanders, who died at the St. Joseph County Jail in March, shows he died from a drug overdose.
Sanders died around 1:40 a.m., Saturday, March 15, Indiana State Police, who are investigating Sanders’ death, said in a press release. His death was ruled an accident, the postmortem report said.
Now, months after Sanders’ death, his family — his mother Sherry Hughes and older sister Ashley Hughes spoke with a Tribune reporter — reflected on the man they loved as Sanders’ 33rd birthday arrived Aug. 8.
“I was so naive that when my son first got locked up I thought, ‘Oh, I can sleep’” Sherry Hughes said. “He’s eating, he’s got a warm bed, he’s not out there doing, and I thought, ‘Oh, he’ll come out better.”
The family isn’t interested in a lawsuit or hoping for criminal charges stemming from the death, they said, but they haven't received any information about the manner of his death beyond the toxicology and post mortem reports. The medical examiner signed the autopsy report on April 16, but the St. Joseph County coroner didn't release the report to the family until May 14, Ashley Hughes said.
“It’s unacceptable. It really is,” she said. “You come knock on somebody’s door and say, ‘Your son’s dead.’ The only brother you have. The only son. But, we don’t know how; we don’t know why; we don’t know.”
How did Jordan Sanders die?
A formal report had not been released as of Aug. 25.
On July 24, Indiana State Police declined to give details of its investigation, saying it would be improper to do publicly. ISP confirmed the investigation has been turned over to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office for review, which is proper procedure, they said.
"Indiana State Police has completed their investigation and forwarded their findings to this office," the prosecutor's office said Aug. 20. "Upon review, no criminal charges have been filed regarding this incident."
On Aug. 25, an ISP spokesperson said the agency doesn't have any plans to release any information on the case at this point, saying case reports aren't released at a district level and must come through the agency's legal department. The Tribune filed a state access to public records request on Aug. 25.
The postmortem report gave a summary of the circumstances of Sanders’ death, saying he was last known to be alive at 1:45 a.m., March 15, confirmed by his cellmate, who reported that Sanders was making gurgling sounds. Jail staff responded and 911 was called, with paramedics responding at 1:53 a.m., according to the report.
Resuscitation efforts by jail staff were unsuccessful, according to the report.
Sanders’ cellmate told law enforcement Sanders may have traded commissary products for an illicit substance, according to the postmortem report.
Sanders was found with a lethal amount of fentanyl in his body, a coroner in Kalamazoo said in a report provided to The Tribune by Sanders' family. His cause of death was ruled a combined toxicity of fentanyl and olanzapine, an antipsychotic. The toxicology report shows Sanders also tested positive for Naloxone — an opioid-reversing treatment, also known as Narcan — as well as meth and oxycodone.
“The olanzapine was something that they (the jail) gave him and the fentanyl was something they failed to prevent access to,” Ashley Hughes said.
Though the postmortem report listed bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder in Sanders' history, Ashley Hughes said he was never diagnosed with either.
The therapeutic range of olanzapine is 20–40 ng/ml, with adverse effects observed at a concentration above 80 ng/ml, according to research published in the Indian Journal of Pharmacology, which also listed a concentration above 100 ng/ml a "therapeutic alert range."
The toxicology report showed Sanders had 118 ng/ml of olanzapine.
“I don’t understand why they had him on all that anti-psychotic medication,” Ashley Hughes said. “... It can take months to diagnose someone. I just don’t understand.”
Inmates receiving Medication Assisted Treatment, MAT, prior to entering the jail have their services continued, Brooke Marshall, manager of addiction services at Oaklawn and outpatient programming for the St. Joseph County Jail, told The Tribune.
Medication Assisted Treatment is not induced while in the jail, Marshall said.
But, Sanders was not receiving MAT, Ashley Hughes said.
Steps sheriff’s office says prevent drugs in jail
A lot of the population that comes into the jail has substance abuse issues, St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman told The Tribune on June 3, when discussing acquiring dogs for deterrence and drug detection in the jail.
“Whether it's drug and alcohol or a combination of both, or multiple types of drugs that are out there on the street, we see more of that just because of the lifestyle that they have chosen,” Redman said. “When they do that and then intermix that with making bad choices, unfortunately, this is where they tend to end up.”
Redman's department had acquired two K9s for the jail, Thor and Apollo — Belgian Malinois and Shepherd mixes — replacing the former jail dog, Maverick, who started working in the jail in February of 2023.
When Warden Andrew Finn took over the jail in January, he told Redman he wanted to continue the jail’s K9 program, Redman said. He also confirmed the jail offers access to Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Jail programs and training St. Joseph County Jail Warden Andrew Finn lists 3 areas of focus to maintain and improve
Natural causes is the most common but not only cause of death in the jail, but none has been the result of physical abuse by staff, a spokesperson said. A female inmate died July 13. No foul play is suspected in that case, according to a news release from the sheriff's department.
The department said it couldn’t provide a statement regarding Sanders’ cause of death because the incident is being investigated by Indiana State Police. On Aug. 25, the department said it has not received the report from ISP.
“We’ve had people pass away in our custody,” Redman said June 3, saying it’s one of the worst calls he gets, informing him someone in the jail was taken to the hospital or died there.
“It’s a horrible phone call because ultimately, it’s my responsibility for everything that happens here in the jail,” he said. Redman said the jail looks into “innovative ways” to make sure illegal drugs don’t come in by detecting what comes in. The jail has an average of 7,700 bookings a year, Redman said.
The Tribune inquired March 19, shortly after Sanders’s death, to discuss the jail’s strategies in combatting contraband, such as drugs smuggled in and to discuss addiction treatment and steps that are taken to prioritize inmate safety. The jail declined the interview request, citing safety and security of staff and inmates.
“We take every possible step to prevent drugs from entering our facility," according to a July 24 statement from the department. "Every individual brought into the jail is searched by the arresting officer, then again by one of our Correctional Officers. They also go through a full-body scanner as part of the intake process.”
Two months after Sanders’ death, the jail brought in the two K9s.
The decision to get two K9s at the St. Joseph County Jail was not in response to any prior incident in the jail, Redman said. Thor and Apollo’s main role is to deter bad behavior in the jail, Redman said, but secondary, it’s to deter illegal substances from entering the jail. In recent months, several men have been accused of trying to use drones to smuggle contraband into Indiana prisons in LaPorte County, The Tribune previously reported.
“Our efforts to maintain a safe environment extend beyond intake,” a police spokesperson said July 24. “… We remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure the safety of those in our care and the staff who serve them.
Sanders' history of drug use
Sanders stole to get money for drugs, his family said. They blame his history of drug use on when he was 7 and his uncle, Gene Artice James and father, Gregory Allen Sanders, died saving a woman in the St. Joseph River. By the time he was 20, Jordan Sanders was using drugs to cope, his family said.
Sanders was arrested Dec. 16 and charged with robbery, accused of stealing from a Little Caesars Pizza store. He was using drugs at the time he was arrested, his family said.
“I’m not making excuses for Jordan,” Ashley Hughes said. “But Jordan didn’t like who Jordan was either at that point. Jordan would have never, in his right state of mind. I just hate that that’s one of the last things he’s going to be remembered for, more or less.”
“The drugs grabbed him and wouldn’t let him go,” Sherry Hughes said. “It was a demon that took him over. He wasn’t my son no more. It was like night and day.”
Sanders previously admitted himself into Oaklawn, after Ashley Hughes urged him to, and stayed for three days, she said. He was sober in 2020, working two jobs and spending time with his daughter, Ashley Hughes said. In Oct. 2024, he tried to get help again at Oaklawn, but they told him that wasn’t the place for him, she said.
When he was arrested, Ashley Hughes said, he told police he needed help for his drug addiction. He was taken to Memorial Hospital for medical clearance, she said.
By March, Sanders was planning to take a plea agreement, his family said. Judge David Fransisco ordered Sanders’ case to be dismissed March 25 — 10 days after his death, according to public court records. An additional robbery charge was also dismissed March 25 after verifying Sanders' death, the prosecutor's office confirmed. The prosecutor's office did not respond when a reporter asked to confirm if Sanders planned to accept a plea agreement.
Sanders wasn’t suicidal, his family said. He was making plans for his future outside of jail, they said.
The last time Sherry Hughes talked with her son was by text the night he died. He was planning on living with her when he got out, she said.
The last thing he said was I love you, she said.
Ashley Hughes read a text exchange she last had with her brother on Friday, March 14 — two days before he died.
The text — Sanders was telling Ashley Hughes about taking a plea deal for the robbery charge — ended with Ashley Hughes saying, “I hope and pray you get it together this time around. You’re getting too old for this (expletive). (His daughter) will be driving by the time you’re out. Crazy. I love you little brother. I’m rooting for you always.”
Advocating for a jail committee
Ashley Hughes urges the community to form a jail oversight committee.
In a letter she shared with The Tribune, she asks for a committee made of inmates’ family, community advocates, community and health professionals and local representatives to serve as watch dogs monitoring the jail.
Seeking closure
Four months after Sanders’ death, pictures of him are all over Sherry Hughes' living room. His portrait is on the wall, a lighted fixture with his face rests by the TV, and pictures of him at various ages is on a blanket Sherry Hughes keeps safe from her cats.
She can’t go to his grave without getting angry, she said. So angry she wants to grab a shovel and dig him up. Instead, she looks at pictures of her son every day. She tells him she loves him and misses him every morning and night.
His Bible — a Life Recovery Bible open to 2 Corinthians 5:12-21 — rests on the coffee table, open to scriptures Sanders highlighted, saying in part, "Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life."
“There’s a big hole in my heart where he’s supposed to be,” Sherry Hughes said.
Ashley took Sanders’ daughter, who was 13 at the time, to Build-a-Bear the weekend he died. They built a Colts bear in honor of Sanders, who was also a Notre Dame football fan, with a recording of his voice.
“We’re still in shock,” Sherry Hughes said. “I think that Jordan’s going to walk through the door.”
“Every day is hard to know that he’s not going to come through that door,” she later said. “I’ll never hug him again. I’ll never kiss his cheek. I’ll never see him again until I die.”
Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.