netflix unlocked: Where is Raymond 'AJ' Lovett from Netflix's Unlocked now? Current whereabouts & charges explored

Raymond 'AJ' Lovett is one of the inmates featured in Netflix's documentary series Unlocked: A Jail Experiment. Released on April 10, 2024, the eight-part docuseries depicts a prison experiment where inmates are given freedom outside of their cells without any direct supervision.

During the filming of the show, AJ was residing at Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the experiment was filmed. Currently, AJ is serving his sentence at the Varner Unit in Lincoln County, Arkansas.

Helmed by Arkansas Sheriff Eric Higgins, the goal of the experiment was to explore the behavior of the detainees and see if they would build a community and structure within the walls of the facility with their newfound autonomy.

Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of suicide. It also contains spoilers for the Netflix docuseries Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.

What was Raymond 'AJ' Lovett arrested for? Crimes explored

Raymond 'AJ' Lovett was arrested for aggravated assault and the capital murder of a man called Leighton Delane Whitfield.

In September 2022, then 24-year-old AJ visited his friend Jade Pye at the CHI St. Vincent Hospital North in Sherwood, Arkansas. During his visit, he encountered Pye's fiance, Whitfield, towards whom he harbored ill feelings. AJ thought that the other man had been mistreating Pye.

After refusing to plug Whitfield's charger into a socket near him, AJ went to the washroom to text his stepmother, Cynthia Lovett. According to The Cinemaholic, the text allegedly read—

"I should kill this boy right now. I’m standing two feet away from him. I’ve never shown this much restraint in my life."

AJ went back into the room and conversed with the two. However, after allegedly receiving a hostile look from Whitfield, AJ took out a gun and fired three shots at the 21-year-old victim. He then pointed the gun at Pye but ran away after she pressed the emergency button.

After dropping off the gun with his father, AJ eventually surrendered to the police at a gas station. While the charge of aggravated assault was dismissed, AJ was sentenced to life in prison for capital murder plus 15 years for "firearm enhancement" in 2023.

Raymond 'AJ' Lovett's role in Unlocked, details explored

In the Netflix docuseries, AJ is seen returning to the H-unit after having been placed in solitary confinement under suicide watch. This was his second time being confined. In the series, he said—

"When I first got here, they took me straight to the hole and they had me on suicide watch for the first couple months because I actually attempted suicide. I was sitting in the cop car, and there was this belt-buckle thing, and I just started slamming my head on it as hard as I could, and I spit my head open pretty bad. I had to go to the hospital and the stitches."

He expressed joy at returning to the H-unit and appreciated the social experiment that was taking place. Confessing that he had reminisced about the unit during confinement and his fear of not returning, he added—

"It's nasty in the hole too. You have a bunk, but you don't have a mattress when you're on suicide watch. And they give you one blanket. You have no at to sleep on. I guess so you don't choke yourself out. You can't hurt yourself with it. Here is freaking heaven compared to the hole."

Described by other inmates as being vulnerable, AJ gradually found stability after initially struggling with mental health issues in the prison. After the filming of the show, AJ was moved to the Varner Unit in Lincoln County where he is carrying out his sentence.

All episodes of Unlocked: A Jail Experiment are currently available to stream on Netflix.