One year ago Monday, Anthony Johnson Jr. died in Tarrant County custody after an altercation with jailers, kicking off multiple legal cases and increasing concern about conditions in the Tarrant County Jail.
Johnson was a 31-year-old Marine veteran with a schizophrenia diagnosis who was arrested shortly after a mental health facility turned him away, according to his family.
In jail, he got into an altercation with guards, who pepper sprayed him, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. Video of the incident shows one jailer knelt on Johnson's back for about 90 seconds, while he told them he couldn’t breathe.
The county medical examiner’s office ruled Johnson’s death a homicide by mechanical and chemical asphyxia. One year later, the criminal and civil cases that spun out of Johnson’s death are still pending, with no clear end date.
Two jailers involved in the altercation — Rafael Moreno and Joel Garcia — were fired and indicted for murder. Moreno is accused of kneeling on Johnson, and Garcia, a supervisor, is accused of doing nothing to stop him.
Their lawyers say it's not clear when the cases will proceed to trial. One of Garcia’s lawyers, Randy Moore, said via text message he is not sure when the trials will happen. One of Moreno’s lawyers, Bob Gill, also said there is no timeline.
KERA News asked the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, and a spokesperson pointed to publicly available court records for any scheduling questions.
Deaths in the Tarrant County Jail have become the most controversial issue of Sheriff Bill Waybourn’s tenure. Deaths spiked under Waybourn, compared to his predecessor. Lawsuits over deaths and allegations of abuse and neglect behind bars have cost the county more than $4.3 million in payouts since 2022.
Waybourn has blamed the deaths, in part, on people’s preexisting health problems when they enter jail. And when jailers are accused of wrongdoing, they face consequences, he told KERA News and the Fort Worth Report while running for reelection last year.
The fallout over Johnson’s death is also playing out in federal court, where Johnson’s family filed a lawsuit against the county and more than a dozen jailers.
In February, a federal judge dismissed the case against Tarrant County, ruling the lawsuit failed to show county policy led to Johnson’s killing. The judge also dismissed the case against six of the jailers being sued.
On Apr. 15, Johnson family attorney Daryl K. Washington filed his intent to appeal those dismissals.
“If Garcia and Moreno worked for Coca-Cola, and they injured or killed somebody during the course and scope of their duty, Coca-Cola would be held liable," Washington told KERA News after the dismissals in February.
Even though it’s no longer a defendant, Tarrant County is still on the hook for the lawsuit financially. It's paying legal bills for the jailers who are being sued.
The county also had to do this following the death of Javonte Myers, who died of a seizure disorder in his Tarrant County Jail cell in 2020. Two jailers were accused of lying about checking on Myers, and while they were prosecuted in criminal court, Tarrant County paid for their defense in a lawsuit from Myers’ mother.
County employees who are sued in the course of their work have a right to legal representation from the county, then-county administrator G.K. Maenius explained.
While the cases work their way through the courts, Johnson’s family members attend regularly Tarrant County Commissioners Court meetings, using the public comment period to call for justice for their loved one.
At the latest meeting on Tuesday, Anthony Johnson Sr. blamed county officials for causing his son’s death.
“I'm only here because my son was killed on your property,” Johnson Sr. said. “Your municipality. Your county. Your floors.”
County Judge Tim O’Hare ordered Johnson Sr. out of the room after Johnson Sr. raised his voice and pounded on the podium.
"You’ll see me again,” Johnson Sr. promised as sheriff’s deputies escorted him out.
Anthony Johnson Jr.'s sister, Janell Johnson, has also been removed during public comment in the past.
On Tuesday, she promised to keep working to fix the county’s problems — “because it’s causing deaths,” she said.
“The way you guys have been dismissing our family for almost 365 days does show how this county is being ran," she said.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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