Broward County Inmate Killed By Cellmate In Apparent Hate Crime

by Jameelah Mullen

January 6, 2024

Kevin Barnes is facing attempted felony murder charges and “evidencing prejudice” while committing the offense.

A man named Janard Geffrard, 29, was allegedly killed by his cellmate Kevin Barnes, 35, during a Dec. 16 beating in a Broward County, Florida, jail. According to investigators, Barnes admitted to beating the victim because he was “gay.”   

“The news of his death was obviously a complete shock to the family,” family’s attorney, Josiah Graham, told ABC news. 

According to Graham, the victim was an openly gay man who was the father of a 10-year-old son. 

“It’s nothing that any parent should go through, hearing the fact that your child passed away is one thing, but to hear that they were brutally executed because they were gay — it’s just a completely entirely different scenario you’re dealing with,” Graham told ABC News. 

The victim’s mother, Marcia Irving, told WSVN News that two days passed before she was notified about the beating. 

“He was already dead when I got there because it was too much time for them to give him help,” she said.

Irving is requesting an investigation into the deputy’s actions following the attack. 

“We just want to know what happened,” she told  WSVN News. “How did they let him down like that.”

According to the arrest report,  an official who watched surveillance footage of the  incident claimed that Barnes was seen choke-holding Geffrard from behind. He was then seen in the kneeling position for two more minutes before releasing the victim and walking away.

The report stated deputies came to the cell more than 20 minutes after the start of the attack. They found the unresponsive victim lying on the floor bleeding from his mouth. 

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) Internal Affairs Unit has opened an investigation into the incident. In an interview with The Miami Herald, BSO spokesperson Carey Codd stated that two BSO employees are on administrative leave with pay pending the investigation. 

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