In the quiet college town of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, a dispute between friends escalated into a fatal encounter. Tobiah Johnson, a 22-year-old male and former student of Edinboro University, was shot and killed on a Monday evening in November 2014. The incident took place in the parking lot of an off-campus apartment building on Water Street, sending shockwaves through the student community and prompting a four-hour lockdown of the university campus.
The investigation into Johnson's death quickly focused on a fellow student and acquaintance, 22-year-old Trey Gunter. Both Johnson and Gunter were originally from the Pittsburgh area. The motive for the deadly confrontation appeared to be a stolen handgun. Reports indicate that Johnson was with a woman, Darche Marie Jackson, with whom he lived, just before the shooting. According to Jackson's account to the police, Johnson was in possession of a handgun he claimed to have stolen from Gunter's residence. As they walked towards their apartment, an unidentified man reportedly ambushed and began fighting with Johnson. It was then that Gunter is said to have emerged from a nearby vehicle, struck Johnson in the head with a handgun, and then fatally shot him in the lower back.
Following the shooting, Trey Gunter was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment. The unidentified man who initially assaulted Johnson was also sought by police. In a turn of events, Gunter, who had been a senior communications major set to graduate, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. He expressed remorse for his actions, stating, 'I've taken my friend's life and I can't change that.' In February 2016, Gunter was sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison for the death of Tobiah Johnson. Two other men, Ryan Andrews and Michael Barron, were also charged in connection with the homicide and later pleaded guilty.
