LONGVIEW, Texas — A Gregg County Jail staff member accused of falsifying medical documentation in connection with an inmate's death was arrested this week.
Sonja Sheree Jones, 54, of Longview, turned herself into the Gregg County Jail Thursday afternoon on a tampering with a government record charge. She bonded out of the jail the same day after having a $10,000 bond.
According to the Gregg County Sheriff's Office, Jones, who was employed as a medical technician, made false statements in medical documents related to the Dec. 12 death Gregg County Jail inmate 64-year-old John Edward Anderson.
Anderson was found unresponsive by jail staff who were conducting floor walks on Dec. 12. Employees administered life-saving measures and Anderson was taken to the hospital, where he later died, the sheriff's office said.
Early results showed Anderson had hypertensive and atherosclerotic trauma, but the exact cause of death is still pending at this time, GCSO said.
Following further investigation, the sheriff's office noticed discrepancies in the medical documents. Using security camera footage and documents, Jones was named as a suspect in falsifying the records, officials said.
Information from the investigation was then forwarded to the Texas Rangers for the further review and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards was notified. On Jan. 3, the Rangers issued a warrant for Jones' arrest and she turned herself in the next day, according to the GCSO.
An Office of the Texas Attorney General report states Anderson was homeless and he was in jail on a criminal trespass charge. He had been in there for 10 days.
