2 Tarrant County sheriff employees indicted on murder in jail death of Anthony Johnson Jr.
Read the latest in our coverage of the death of Anthony Johnson Jr. and other issues in Tarrant County jail.
The two jailers who were fired from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office in connection to the in-custody death of Anthony Johnson Jr. have been Indicted on murder charges.
The Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday the indictments of Rafael Moreno — the jailer who put his knee on Johnson’s back for 90 seconds — and Lt. Joel Garcia, who was the supervisor the morning of Johnson’s death.
“The wheels of justice continue to turn in this case,” Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said in the statement. “I said from the beginning that we hold accountable anyone responsible for Mr. Johnson’s death and we are doing that.”
Neither Moreno or Garcia is in custody of the Tarrant County Jail, according to jail and court records. Their attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The indictment of Rafael Moreno Jr. and Joel Garcia is an appropriate step in the right direction considering what we all saw in the video revealing Anthony Johnson Jr.’s last moments of life,” attorney Daryl K. Washington, who is representing Johnson’s family, said in a statement.
Johnson’s April 21 death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation on June 7 by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
