By Will Greenlee
Treasure Coast Newspapers
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — St. Lucie County Sheriff’s officials faulted two deputies in connection with events surrounding the November death of an inmate found hanging in his cell, according to recently released records.
Internal affairs officials began investigating after the Nov. 1 death of Alexander Johnson, 27, of Fort Pierce. Johnson was arrested Oct. 29 by Fort Pierce police on a domestic battery charge and booked into jail. He was found about 11:19 p.m. Nov. 1 hanging in his cell.
Johnson was housed in an area where inmates must be watched every 30 minutes. They have to make sure the inmates “are not engaging in self-destructive behavior or other unauthorized behavior and are not under duress,” records state.
The checks must be documented with the time noted.
Internal affairs officials reviewed surveillance video and documents in investigating three deputies whose shifts began at 7 p.m. They concluded procedures weren’t followed.
They found the time some checks were done, as compared to the time they were logged, varied by one to 23 minutes. Three checks also were logged but not done. The last time a check was done on Johnson was about two hours before he was found dead.
Investigators concluded Deputy John Soto falsified three checks and “failed to properly document the exact time the check was done on each inmate as the procedure dictates,” record state. Soto resigned while under investigation.
Investigators determined Deputy Nikolos Wesenick neglected his duties by not making checks in his area of responsibility. He was suspended without pay for five days.
Fault was not found with the third deputy, Frantz Guerrier.
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