Jail guards repeatedly 'dry stunned' incapacitated diabetic inmate with Taser, leading to his death: Cops

Insets, from left: Joseph Evans and Liletzy Valdez-Carbajal (Blount County Jail). Background: The Blount County Detention Center in Oneonta, Ala. (Google Maps).

Two Alabama jail guards are accused of using a Taser to kill an inmate who could not stand or walk because of a diabetic ketoacidosis medical emergency.

Joseph Evans, 26, and Liletzy Valdez-Carbajal, 19, are charged with murder and assault in the death of 23-year-old Arthur P. Morse.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a press release that Morse was taken to the hospital after a "medical event" at the Blount County Detention Center in Oneonta, which is about 35 miles northeast of Birmingham. Morse died at the hospital on Feb. 6.

The agency opened an investigation and submitted its findings to the Blount County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury, which led to indictments.

According to probable cause documents obtained by local ABC affiliate WBMA, Evans and Valdez-Carbajal repeatedly "dry stunned" Morse with a Taser as he was incapacitated from diabetic ketoacidosis, a medical condition in which the body does not have enough insulin. Dry stunning occurs when a Taser is placed against the body and fired.

Morse was unable to stand or walk on his own at the time of the incident. Prosecutors allege that the guards' actions led to Morse's death.

Evans and Valdez-Carbajal are no longer working at the jail, the sheriff's office said.

"When the incident leading to their arrest occurred we immediately notified the ALEA Investigation Division and turned the matter over to them for investigation," Sgt. Jason Paul of the Blount County Sheriff's Office told local Fox affiliate WBRC. "Today, we were notified of indictments and assisted ALEA in making the arrests on those indictments."

They were arrested Monday.

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Morse was serving a 15-day jail sentence after he violated probation stemming from a 2025 conviction for driving under the influence.

The suspects remained in jail as of early Tuesday afternoon. Their next court dates were not immediately listed.