Tippecanoe County Jail inmate found dead Sunday afternoon

Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier
Updated ·2 min read
Eight Tippecanoe County Jail inmates have died in custody since 2009. Three of those deaths happened in incidents on Jan. 12, 2019.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The death of Tippecanoe County Jail inmate Cordarro Donta Curtis is being investigated by the Indiana State Police and the Tippecanoe County Coroner's Office, Coroner Carrie Costello said.

Other inmates alerted Tippecanoe County Jail officers of a possible medical emergency in the showers about 4 p.m. Sunday, Indiana State Police Sgt. Jeremy Piers said.

Officers found Curtis, 29, of East Chicago, Indiana, unresponsive from an apparent self-inflicted wound, Piers said, noting there are no signs of foul play.

Curtis was pronounced dead at the jail, Piers said.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith did not comment, saying the Indiana State Police are investigating the inmate's death.

Curtis was booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail early May 7.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, Costello said.

Prosecutors charged Curtis in May with seven charges, including attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery with serious bodily injury, battery with a deadly weapon, and two counts of criminal recklessness.

More: East Chicago man charged with attempted murder in assault on his ex-girlfriend

About 5:30 p.m. May 6, Curtis fired between two and four shots into a car parked in the 1200 block of Burberry Drive West in Lafayette, according to prosecutors.

One of the bullets struck Curtis' ex-girlfriend, shattering the bones in her arm, according to prosecutors who noted that she was transported to an Indianapolis hospital for surgery.

Curtis' ex-girlfriend was in the backseat on the passenger side of the car when Curtis approached the car from the passenger's side and shot at her, according to prosecutors.

Curtis left the scene after the shooting, and police arrested him later that night in the 1800 block of Shoshone Drive, according to Lafayette police.

While officers were at the scene, Curtis used social media message apps to try to persuade those in the car to mislead officers. "Say it isn't me," he supposedly messaged, according to prosecutors.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe County Jail inmate found dead Sunday afternoon