A former Tarrant County jail guard, accused of lying about checking on a prisoner who died in his cell, will serve five years’ probation and pay $250,000 in restitution to the county after pleading guilty on Tuesday.
Erik Gay was indicted for tampering with a government record in 2020, after he and another jailer allegedly lied about checking on a prisoner named Javonte Myers, who died of a seizure disorder in his cell and lay undiscovered for hours, according to his family’s lawsuit against the county.
At a hearing in downtown Fort Worth Tuesday morning, Gay accepted a two-year suspended state jail sentence as part of his plea deal. That means he doesn’t have to serve time behind bars as long as he meets his other plea conditions.
Gay has to pay the entire $250,000 during his probation. That, or the court can extend his probation up to 10 years to give him more time to pay, Gay's attorney Randy Moore explained in an interview with KERA.
"Then once the maximum time gets there, then they'll probably revoke his probation, and he may very well have to go do the two years anyway," he said.
During the investigation, Gay accused the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office of encouraging jailers to lie on their check records.
“They're only concerned about making the computer look good,” Gay said in a recorded interview with Texas Ranger Trace McDonald, obtained through an open records request.
Sheriff Bill Waybourn told WFAA earlier this year Gay was trying to defend himself with that statement.
On Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office responded to Gay's guilty plea by looking ahead to Darien Kirk's case. He's the other former jailer charged alongside Gay.
"We filed charges on [Gay] and the court held him accountable. We anticipate a similar outcome for Mr. Kirk," Sheriff's Office spokesperson Robbie Hoy wrote in an email.
The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office declined to comment on this story, as Kirk's case is still pending.
The DA's office is holding lower-level employees accountable, but not their higher-ups, Moore said.
"It seems to me that the lowest person on the food chain is the one that's getting eaten here," he said.
Until last week, the $1 million lawsuit settlement Myers’ family got from the county was the largest in county history. On May 21, county commissioners approved a $1.2 million settlement for Chasity Congious after she gave birth alone in her jail cell, and her baby, Zenorah, died.
Since Myers’ death, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has changed the way they record cell checks. Instead of jailers inputting their own checks, checks are now recorded electronically.
This story has been updated with comment from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Randy Moore.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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