CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Fort Smith man charged with manslaughter after his nephew had a medical emergency in the Crawford County jail and later died had a plea hearing scheduled in his case.

David Alverson, 50, was charged in Crawford County Circuit Court with felony manslaughter and an additional count as a habitual offender on December 13, 2022. Alverson’s nephew, Jacob Jones, 26, was arrested by Van Buren police on an outstanding warrant on October 14, 2022, and video taken inside a police cruiser showed him remove a bag of what appeared to be drugs and swallow it beside Alverson.

Jones was booked into the Crawford County jail and died hours later. Sheriff Jim Damante said that a medical examiner confirmed that the bag Jones swallowed broke open in the man’s stomach and the cause of death was ruled as an overdose.

On April 5, the Crawford County trial court administrator sent a notice to counsel that Judge Marc McCune scheduled a plea hearing for April 10 at 9:00 a.m. The day before, he set a trial date for July 25.