Legal fee bill for jail death lawsuit grows. Tarrant County approves up to $30k more
As the family of a man who was killed in the Tarrant County jail last year approaches the anniversary of his death, the county’s bill for outside legal representation for the jailers involved continues to grow.
Marine veteran Anthony Johnson Jr. was killed during an altercation with jailers on April 21, 2024.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted to hire a new outside attorney to represent jailer Jaquavious Simmons after the previous lawyer hired by the county became unable to continue representing him.
Simmons was one of two jailers who sprayed pepper spray directly into Johnson’s mouth before another guard, Rafael Moreno, placed a knee on his back. Moreno and Joel Garcia, the supervisor at the time, now face murder charges.
Simmons’ previous attorney, Lynn Winter, became unable to continue representing him after a recent employment change to a corporate entity, according to court documents. “As a result, new legal representation for Mr. Simmons is required,” the document states.
The county is required by law to hire outside legal counsel in cases brought against county employees if the complaint could reasonably lead to criminal charges. The vote fell along party lines, with County Judge Tim O’Hare and fellow Republicans Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez voting in favor, and Democrats Roderick Miles and Alisa Simmons voting against.
Miles, Simmons and a county spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The county hired Mark Goldstucker, an attorney in Richardson, to take Winter’s place at a rate of $300 per hour, court documents show. Goldstucker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court documents state that the full fiscal impact of the hiring is currently unknown. However, if the full $30,000 is billed, the Tarrant County taxpayers will have paid as much as $615,000 to defend the county and jailers in the case so far.
In a move that stunned Johnson’s family and their supporters, a federal judge in Fort Worth dropped Tarrant County from the list of defendants in the case in February.
But while the county has found a way to remove itself from the lawsuit, Johnson’s father, Anthony Johnson Sr., told commissioners on Wednesday that his son’s last minutes remain “trapped” in his mind.
“It’s horrific,” he said during the public comment section for the agenda item. He and his wife and daughters have seen the full video of the altercation that resulted in his son’s death, which the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office has withheld from the public.
“It’s so horrific that I have to learn to deal with this on a day-to-day basis,” he said, before pleading for accountability in the case.
Three other Tarrant County residents, including two Marine veterans, spoke to voice their opposition to the hiring.
“More money, more money, more money,” said Bishop Kirkland, a Marine veteran from Fort Worth who regularly attends county commissioners meetings to speak on this and other issues.
“My village is asking this body to stop your bald-faced lying that you are powerless against wild Bill,” he said, referring to Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
Kirkland then called to have Waybourn removed under a statute of the Local Government Code that allows for the removal of public officers, including sheriffs.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 1:42 PM.
