Romero to face hearing committee

The mothers of the children of a former Loreauville High School quarterback filed a federal lawsuit last week, claiming that Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero and then-Iberia Parish Jail Warden Anthony Green, along with several unnamed deputies and medical workers, failed to prevent Raymond Bonnette from killing himself while in custody last year.

Katja Coway and Morgan Elizabeth Marks filed the suit jointly on behalf of their children with Bonnette in the U.S. Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette on July 21, the anniversary of Bonnette’s death.

Bonnette was arrested on July 18, 2020, on a charge of failure to appear in court for back child support he owed.

Three days later, he was dead. According to the lawsuit, he hanged himself in his jail cell after being held “in unmonitored solitary confinement with material he could use to commit suicide.”

Bonnette was a 2014 graduate of Loreauville High School. He was the school’s quarterback and a defensive back. Additionally, he played basketball as a guard and was a member of the track team, where he threw the javelin.

The lawsuit claims that Bonnette “displayed erratic, bizarre behavior” in front of four unnamed deputies, and that they should have taken steps to get him medical help.

“John Doe #1-4 did not request that Mr. Bonnette be monitored, placed on suicide watch, nor

took any action to protect Mr. Bonnette despite his obvious, acute mental distress,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit additionally alleges that four unnamed medical personnel at the jail were also negligent in not taking steps to give Bonnette aid.

“John Doe #5-#8, despite medical training, took no measures to ensure Mr. Bonnette was

housed such that he was protected from committing suicide,” according to the filing.

Another unnamed medical supervisor is also listed in the lawsuit, as is Iberia Parish Government. The only two named individuals in the civil suit are Romero and Green.

Green assumed the role of warden in 2018, replacing Paul Scott, who had assumed the job of warden of the St. Mary Parish Jail, where he had worked prior to his tenure in Iberia Parish. Green has since left his position as warden at the Iberia Parish Jail.

The lawsuit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages for Coway and Marks, as well as for their children.