Fort Worth prison guard charged with murder after inmate’s death – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Two Tarrant County Jail employees have been charged with murder for their role in the death of inmate Anthony Johnson Jr.

The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement Friday morning that jail guards Rafael Moreno, 37, and Lt. Joel Garcia, 48, were each indicted on murder charges by a grand jury on Tuesday.

Johnson, whose death was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner, died in an altercation at the Tarrant County Jail in April.

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

In May, Waybourn fired Moreno and Garcia after an internal investigation into Johnson’s death. Waybourn said during a news conference this month that Moreno was fired for using a technique that was not approved by the sheriff’s department. Garcia, Waybourn said, was fired for allowing the technique to be used and for failing to respond to the urgency of the situation.

Waybourn said he was forced by civil service rules to rehire the prison guards three days after they were released.

The sheriff’s office said the case will be forwarded to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The Texas Rangers, part of the Texas Department of Public Safety, are independently investigating Johnson’s death.

Earlier this month, Daryl Washington, the attorney for Johnson’s family, told NBC 5 after a meeting with the Tarrant County district attorney that he was “confident” that at least two people would face charges by the end of the month.