The pretrial for two former Tarrant County Jail officers indicted for murder in the death of Anthony Johnson, Jr. is set for Tuesday morning.
Joel Garcia, 49, and Rafael Moreno, 39, were among several jailers that responded to an altercation with Johnson, a Marine veteran whose family says was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Partially released video footage from April 21, 2024, shows jailers pepper spraying Johnson in the face while restraining him face down on the ground. Moreno knelt on Johnson's back for about 90 seconds, and Johnson can be heard saying he can't breathe. Garcia, who was Moreno's supervisor, recorded the incident on his phone.
Johnson died after the altercation. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide by asphyxiation.
Rafael Moreno and Joel Garcia were fired in May 2024, reinstated after the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said they were incorrectly dismissed, then fired again. Both were indicted for murder in June 2024 and arrested a few days after, court records show.
Daryl Washington, attorney for the Johnson family, told KERA News Monday he expects the trial will start sometime this year.
"The family is anxious," Washington said. "Their son was wrongfully taken away from them. And they want answers."
KERA News reached out to Garcia and Moreno's attorneys and will update this story with any response.
For nearly two years, the Johnson family has demanded accountability from Tarrant County and its staff. They filed a federal lawsuit against the county and 15 jailers, including Garcia and Moreno, for their son's wrongful death.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor dismissed the claims against Tarrant County and several of the named jailers. The Johnsons have since appealed that decision, but the county maintains it's not responsible for his death.
The Johnson family also wants the full video showing the moments leading up to their son's death to be released — something Attorney General Ken Paxton said would interfere with the criminal investigation.
"I think people are going to be disgusted at what they see in that video and the way they treated Anthony less than a human being," Washington said, who has seen the full video. "People are going to understand what the family has been dealing with all this time."
Additional reporting by Miranda Suarez.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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