Shilo Sanders creditor collapses at bankruptcy trial

John Darjean, the former school security guard owed nearly $12 million by Shilo Sanders, collapsed in Denver bankruptcy court on Sept. 3 after finishing testimony and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. He was released later that day as Sanders seeks to discharge an $11.89 million judgment.

Key Takeaways

• John Darjean collapsed in pain after more than two hours of testimony on Day 4 of the Shilo Sanders bankruptcy trial and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, then released later Thursday.
• Sanders is seeking to erase an $11.89 million default judgment Darjean won in Texas in 2022 over a Sept. 17, 2015 school altercation.
• Darjean argues the debt stems from a willful and malicious injury that cannot be discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
• Judge Michael Romero released Colorado coach Deion Sanders from testifying after Day 4; witness testimony has ended and the trial was expected to wrap Friday.
• Former principal Ruda James backed Sanders' account of choking, but a same-day phone call and other witnesses cut against that narrative.

The courtroom drama landed at the center of a high-stakes debt fight tracked across Fintech & Crypto Alerts: whether a multi-million-dollar civil judgment survives bankruptcy.

What happened to John Darjean in court?

According to USA Today, Darjean, 50, testified again for more than two hours Thursday before collapsing in pain at the end of his testimony. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance and released later that day. He did not return to the trial afterward.

The Denver Post and Daily Camera reported that a witness said Darjean collapsed during the lunch break. Darjean had told the court Thursday morning he was dealing with excruciating back pain and has taken frequent breaks and medication during the trial.

Darjean sued Shilo Sanders in 2016, accusing the then-15-year-old of assaulting him on Sept. 17, 2015, at a Dallas school when Darjean tried to confiscate Sanders' phone. Darjean has claimed the attack aggravated a previous spinal injury and worsened ongoing health problems, including nerve damage, incontinence, more spinal surgeries, and pain.

Why does the Shilo Sanders bankruptcy trial matter?

Darjean won an $11.89 million default judgment after Sanders did not appear for the Texas trial in 2022. Sanders filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and is asking the Denver bankruptcy court to discharge that debt.

Darjean is contesting the discharge, arguing the judgment stems from a willful and malicious injury—an exception under U.S. bankruptcy law that can block Chapter 7 relief. Sanders says he did not strike Darjean and was instead the victim of Darjean's attack.

Judge Michael Romero will decide whom to believe based on a preponderance of the evidence. After the trial, the court typically takes the matter under advisement and issues a written opinion or schedules an oral ruling.

What conflicting testimony emerged on Day 4?

Sanders called Ruda James, a former Focus Learning Academy principal and administrator, who testified she saw Darjean choking Sanders and pushing him into a glass window. That description matched Sanders' own account.

On cross-examination, Darjean's attorney Ori Raphael played a recorded call from the day of the incident between James and Sanders' mother, Pilar. Asked whether she saw Darjean's hand around Shilo's neck, James replied she did not see the neck part. James said her lodging and travel were paid by Sanders' law firm and that it would not affect her testimony.

Former PE teacher Heiser Shields also backed parts of Sanders' story, saying Sanders was not disruptive as others claimed and that Darjean did not have to grab him. Other witnesses, including front desk clerk Saundra Haynes, have testified Sanders was the aggressor.

Police and medical reports shown Thursday listed the incident as an assault with serious bodily injury with Sanders as the suspect. Sanders' attorney Victor Vital noted the reports did not mention punches Darjean later described. Romero also released Deion Sanders from having to testify Friday, finding his testimony unnecessary after Day 4.