Inmate who died in BCSO custody had been held since July on $300 bond

Janice Dotson-Stephens, 61, died Friday

SAN ANTONIO – Court records confirm that an inmate who died while in the custody of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office on Friday had been held in jail on a $300 bond since July.

An official with the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman Saturday as 61-year-old Janice Dotson-Stephens.

Dotson-Stephens was arrested July 17 on a criminal charge of trespassing on private property.

County clerk records show the misdemeanor charge was her first arrest in Bexar County.

BCSO officials said Friday that Dotson-Stephens appeared to have died of natural causes and had been held at the infirmary at the annex detention center.

Officials have not said why Dotson-Stephens stayed in the jail so long, since a $30 payment would have likely been all it took to release her on bond.

Court records show she refused to be interviewed the day after the arrest, as well as on four straight days in late July.

Dotson-Stephens again refused to be interviewed August 4. A court-appointed attorney was assigned to her August 8, according to court records.

She was ordered to go through a psychological evaluation on August 27, 10 days after she refused to make a court appearance.


About the Author:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.