MCALESTER, Okla. — An east-central Oklahoma county sheriff who is running for a state Senate seat confirmed Tuesday morning that his son died shortly after being arrested and jailed on drug charges.

Pittsburg County Sheriff Joel Kerns said his son, 28-year-old Jaelon Kerns, was arrested after police reported finding marijuana.

Police in the town of McAlester, Oklahoma, arrested Jaelon Kerns and booked him into the Pittsburg County Jail around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday on an initial complaint of possession of a controlled substance, according to Joel Kerns.

Sheriff Kerns said his son began having convulsions at the jail, and he and his wife posted bail so they could take him to the hospital. Kerns said doctors at the McAlester hospital treated his son but were unable to save him.

“I loved him,” Joel Kerns said.

The state medical examiner is expected to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death, the sheriff said.

Joel Kerns is on Tuesday’s general election ballot as the Democratic candidate for the District 7 state Senate seat. He is challenging the Republican candidate, incumbent Larry Boggs, for the office.

Senate District 7 covers all of Pittsburg, Latimer and Haskell counties, along with parts of Hughes and Okfuskee counties.

Beaty writes for The McAlester News-Capital in McAlester, Oklahoma.