Man Charged with North Iowa Murder Pleads Not Guilty to Drug Charges
A former Charles City resident accused of killing a New Hampton man has pleaded not guilty to drug charges in both Howard and Bremer counties.
26-year-old Sayvonne Jordan of Elma faces charges of first-degree murder, going armed with intent, and abuse of a corpse in the death of 30-year-old Jonathan Esparza on October 20, 2022. A search of Jordan’s residence on November 30th located human remains, determined to be those of Esparza.
Jordan has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has requested a speedy trial, which is set for March 29th in Howard County District Court.
During the same search of Jordan’s residence, authorities found over 250 grams of marijuana, plus drug paraphernalia. He has pleaded not guilty to two felony drug charges and his trial on those charges is scheduled for May 3rd.
Monday, February 27th, Jordan also pleaded not guilty to possession of marijuana and driving while barred in Bremer County; charges that stemmed from an arrest following a traffic stop by the Iowa State Patrol in December. No trial date is set.
With his arrest on the various charges in recent months, Jordan also faces probation revocation in Floyd County, where he was on probation for his conviction on a pair of drug charges on October 4th, less than three weeks before he allegedly killed Esparza.
Jordan is being held in the Howard County Jail in Cresco on a $1 million cash bond.
