In the quiet town of Covington, Georgia, a young man's life was tragically cut short in a violent home invasion. On the evening of November 5, 2018, 22-year-old Wintez Moody found himself in a fight for his life. The terrifying ordeal began to unfold around 9:05 p.m. at his residence on Brookwood Drive. He urgently dialed 911, reporting that someone was breaking into his home. Hiding in a bedroom closet, Moody informed the dispatcher that he could hear the intruders walking through his house. The call captured the chilling moments as the situation escalated, with male voices audible in the background.
The brief but harrowing 911 call documented the final moments of Moody's life. Suddenly, a gunshot can be heard. Moody's voice, filled with pain and desperation, came back on the line, telling the operator, “He shot me, he just shot me, I'm bleeding.” He managed to identify one of the intruders, stating, “It’s Trea Johnson, it’s Trea Johnson.” Just a mere 150 seconds after the initial call was made, Wintez Moody had been shot. Despite the quick response of Newton County Sheriff's Office deputies, who arrived on the scene within seven minutes, it was too late. They found Moody deceased inside his home, having succumbed to a fatal gunshot wound.
The investigation into Moody’s murder quickly focused on the man he had named in his final moments: Trea Megill Johnson, a 20-year-old from the nearby town of Newborn. Investigators learned that the two had been engaged in a dispute over social media and text messages in the days leading up to the fatal encounter. Johnson had not acted alone that night. Earlier in the evening, he had been involved in an armed robbery of two other individuals at his home. After the robbery, he proceeded to Moody's residence, where he used a brick to shatter the glass of the back door to gain entry.
Following the murder, Johnson went on the run. Knowing that law enforcement was actively searching for him, he managed to evade capture for two days. The manhunt came to an end on November 7, 2018, when members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force and Newton County sheriff's deputies apprehended him in Kennesaw. Johnson was subsequently charged with a string of serious offenses, including malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was held in the Newton County Jail without bond.
In September 2021, Trea Johnson faced a jury in a Newton County courtroom. The evidence against him was overwhelming, including the powerful and tragic 911 call where the victim himself identified his killer. After a trial, the jury found Johnson guilty on all counts. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered to be conducted by the department of community supervision before his final sentencing, bringing a measure of justice for the senseless killing of Wintez Moody.
