Grand jury indicts two Tarrant County jail employees over inmate's death

A grand jury in Tarrant County has indicted two jail employees for murder in the death of an inmate earlier this year.

Anthony Johnson Jr, 31, died in April after the sheriff's department says he refused a check of his cell. The department released about five minutes of video showing an altercation between Johnson and employees.

When releasing the video, Sheriff Bill Waybourn said it showed detention officers "using a technique that, number one, he was not trained to do, and number two, that we do not tolerate, nor do we want done."

Waybourn fired two detention officers, but he said civil service rules forced their reinstatement.

Earlier this month, the Tarrant County medical examiner ruled Johnson's death homicide by asphyxiation. His family and their lawyer then said jail employees should face criminal charges.

"There was so much pepper spray that was sprayed down his mouth, it was a contributing factor to his death," Lawyer Daryl Washington said.

"You guys do not know what you're doing," Johnson's sister said of the sheriff's department. "You are showing it. It has been a fact. It is a fact."

The grand jury indicted Officer Rafael Moreno, 37, and Lt. Joel Garcia, 48 for murder.

"The wheels of justice continue to turn in this case,” Waybourn wrote in a statement Friday. “I said from the beginning that we hold accountable anyone responsible for Mr. Johnson’s death and we are doing that.”

LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube