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Family of man who died at St. Louis City Justice Center is 'demanding answers'

"My brother would still be alive if they had attended to him and got him the care he needed," said Carman Weber.

"Saturday, November 9th, I received a call from my grandmother that someone from the jail, a female corrections officer, called her," said Carman Weber.

Weber said a corrections officer at the St. Louis City Justice Center first wanted her family to know that her brother, 58-year-old Antonio Weber, was experiencing chest pain.

He was an inmate at the downtown jail.

Weber says Acting Jail Commissioner Tammy Ross then called her grandmother.

"Not even an hour later, my grandmother called me back and told me they called her to tell her that Tony was deceased. It was heartbreaking. I didn't expect that at all," Carman Weber said.

RELATED: Protesters demand answers after 18 deaths at St. Louis jail in 4 years; latest death shrouded in mystery

Mitch McCoy, a Spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed on Nov. 1 "Antonio Weber was arrested during a traffic stop related to outstanding warrants, including a felony for his arrest."

Weber's sister said it was an outstanding theft warrant.

On Friday, she met with 5 On Your Side's Robert Townsend outside the downtown jail.

"He was locked up here and brought here," she said.

Monday, the family buried their loved one.

Carman admitted her older brother battled a drug addiction for years.

"I understand he was yelling and telling them his chest was hurting and then within an hour or so you come back around and make rounds and he's deceased? Like what did you all do within the time of him complaining? To my knowledge, he didn't have any medication with him. I think my brother would still be alive honestly if they had attended to his medical condition, which was his drug addiction," said the man's sister.

Since 2020, 18 inmates have died at the City Justice Center.

Weber said her brother died in his cell.

"I was told when they found him that he was unresponsive and the cellmate was questioned and told them that he was confused. My brother wasn't shy about his situation so I'm sure he asked somebody to give him something to ease his pain or help him get through the night. If you people coming to this jail who have drug addictions, problems with alcoholism, any type of illness, they they should have a separate unit to help these people. They call them inmates. We call them people, because that's what they are and they deserve to be treated humanely," Weber said.

This weekend, Carman Weber will return to her home in Texas.

Nonetheless, she said that won't stop her from fighting for her brother.

"Yes, I am, and not just for my brother, but for everybody else who has lost a loved one under the care of this facility. St. Louis needs to do a better job at this facility," Carman said.

In a statement sent to 5 On Your Side tonight, Jamella Brown, the spokesperson for the Office of the Director of Public Safety in St. Louis, said, "The Department of Public Safety acknowledges that this matter is currently under investigation by the SLMPD’s Force Investigation Unit. To maintain the integrity of the investigation, we are unable to provide further details or comments at this time. In accordance with the Division of Corrections’ protocol, personal belongings that are, at times, deemed relevant to the investigation are held temporarily, and later returned upon the conclusion of the investigative process."

Antonio Weber's sister said that to date, they have not been able to retrieve his cell phone, clothes and other personal items from the downtown jail.

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