Two Tarrant County prison guards charged with murder of inmate

Two Tarrant County jail guards suspected in the death of Anthony Johnson Jr. were charged with murder on Friday, authorities said.

A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Rafael Moreno, a prison guard seen on video kneeling on Johnson’s back, and Lt. Joel Garcia, his supervisor. Their lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment.

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

Johnson, a 31-year-old Marine Corps veteran who had reportedly been diagnosed with schizophrenia, died on April 21. He had previously spent two days in jail after being arrested in Saginaw and accused of pointing a knife at a motorist while standing in the street.

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said at the time that Johnson died of a “medical emergency” after refusing to leave his cell for a contraband stop. Officials said Johnson was restrained with pepper spray, after which he later became unresponsive and died.

A portion of a video released by the sheriff’s office shows several jail guards kneeling on Johnson’s back as he screamed “I can’t breathe” during the altercation.

The county medical examiner’s office concluded his death was caused by homicide, and the autopsy revealed that his body was unable to absorb enough oxygen due to a mixture of chemicals and physical violence.

Daryl Washington, an attorney representing Johnson’s family, said in a news release Friday that the charges were a step in the right direction but “only one piece of the puzzle.”

He said many more people needed to be held accountable, including other prison guards who witnessed Johnson becoming unresponsive and medical staff who could have saved him.

“There is still so much work to do and we will not stop fighting until we reach the finish line,” Washington said.

After Johnson’s death, Waybourn fired Moreno and Garcia in May. Both were later reinstated and then suspended.

The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Johnson is one of at least 64 people who have died in the Tarrant County Jail since 2017, prompting a major review of conditions there. More than three-quarters of those deaths were related to medical conditions or COVID-19, one was classified as unknown, two were classified as homicides and another four were pending, according to a sheriff’s office spokesman.