Former North Las Vegas Corrections Officer Indicted on Excessive Force and Obstruction Charges

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Las Vegas has indicted a former North Las Vegas corrections officer on federal civil rights and obstruction of justice charges. Stuart Barlow Johnson, 47, was indicted on one count of violating the victim’s civil rights by using excessive force on the victim and one count of obstruction of justice for falsifying an incident report in an attempt to cover up the incident.

The indictment alleges that on November 29, 2008, while acting as a corrections officer at the North Las Vegas Detention Center, Johnson assaulted an unnamed victim, identified as “D.H.,” resulting in bodily injury to D.H. The obstruction count alleges that on the same day, Johnson knowingly falsified a document with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of a matter within the jurisdiction of the FBI.

If convicted, the defendant faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the civil rights count and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the obstruction count.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Las Vegas Division of the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Dickinson of the District of Nevada and Trial Attorneys Ryan Murguía and Patricia Sumner of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.