BATON ROUGE — A federal grand jury has charged four former East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies with crimes ranging from witness tampering to using their status as law enforcement officers to physically abuse jail inmates, violating their civil rights.
The indictment says the men took advantage of areas of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison that don’t have surveillance cameras – including interview rooms and the sally port area where inmates are brought into the building – to allegedly attack inmates who were alone and not resisting, according to a news release from the federal prosecutor’s office.
“All four attacks resulted in bodily injury, and three involved the use of dangerous weapons. The defendants conspired with one another to cover up the attacks by creating false cover stories that omitted the use of force. The conspiracies also involved text discussions between the defendants regarding EBRSO investigators and the falsification of reports,” the news release said.
One of the men, Darius Powell, allegedly posted pictures and statements about one of the attacks on social media, the release said.
Powell, 24, of Baton Rouge was charged with two counts of abuse of rights under color of law.
The others indicted were:
- Aaron Johnson, 29, of Denham Springs, was charged with three counts of abuse of rights under color of law. He is accused of hitting an inmate with a metal folding chair. He is also accused of “assaulting unresisting and handcuffed inmates in isolated areas of the prison not covered by surveillance.”
- Kenyaki Domino, 29, of Baton Rouge, is charged with two counts of abuse of rights under color of law, including slamming an inmate’s head into a door frame, according to prosecutors.
- Lionel James, 30, of Baton Rouge, was charged with one count of the same crime.
The four men were also charged with conspiring to cover up the crimes and filing false reports to do so.
Johnson and Powell are also charged with witness tampering.
Johnson was a field training officer at the sheriff’s office and Domino and James supervised other deputies, federal officials say. EBRSO said Johnson was not a field training officer. He was a guard.
Johnson was fired and arrested in 2023 in the beating, which left the inmate with “multiple fractures” to his face.
State charges from that arrest were dismissed in 2024. Court records show that Johnson completed “mitigation,” including anger management training, a court-approved effective decision-making class, a substance abuse evaluation and community service before the charges were dismissed with a notation that the mitigation was complete.
Powell was fired in 2023 and Domino was fired in 2024, EBRSO said. James resigned in 2024 as he was facing termination.
The sheriff’s office released a statement Thursday showing that all the deputies were terminated or left employment with the agency as soon as complaints against them were investigated.
“Any employee who abuses their authority or violates the public trust has no place in the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. We have zero tolerance for the abuse of inmates or any other misconduct by our employees.
In every instance where inappropriate conduct came to our attention, this agency took action,” the statement read. “The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office has fully cooperated with federal authorities throughout this investigation and will continue to do so. We remain committed to accountability, professionalism, and ensuring that all individuals in our custody are treated lawfully, safely, and with dignity. When misconduct is identified, we act decisively, and we will continue to hold our employees to the highest standards of integrity and public service.”
Another former deputy, Christian Morris, was arrested in May and has since pleaded guilty to the abuse of rights under color of law.
Morris, 29, of Zachary, was accused of failing to prevent a crime or intervene when another deputy attacked an inmate with a metal folding chair in January 2023.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Wall said “an overwhelming majority of law enforcement personnel are extremely professional and proficient in their duties. However, when someone in a position of trust has violated that responsibility, it is our job to make certain that they are held accountable.”
Wall and Jonathan Tapp, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said Sheriff Sid Gautreaux and his staff completely cooperated in the investigation.
Tapp said the FBI takes “these types of allegations against law enforcement officers very seriously.”
The men could be jailed for 20 years for the false report and witness tampering charges and could be jailed for 10 years on the abuse of rights and conspiracy counts, the news release said.
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
