On a summer afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska, 69-year-old Sharon Johnson was the sole passenger on an eastbound city bus. As the bus traveled along A Street on July 23, 2020, a single bullet pierced the driver's side, striking Sharon in the head. The Caucasian female was rushed to a local hospital, but her injuries proved fatal, and she was pronounced dead.
The incident was quickly determined to be a homicide, the city's third in that month alone.
Investigators utilized video evidence which showed a handgun being extended from the window of a passing car. This led them to a vehicle at a Kwik Shop where they located and arrested 27-year-old Joel Jones Jr. on suspicion of second-degree murder and several weapons counts. The firearm found in his possession was the same caliber as the shell casing recovered at the scene. Police believe that Jones was in the back seat of the car and, in a random act of violence, aimed and fired at the bus without a specific target.
The driver of the vehicle, 19-year-old Jarell Wheeler, was also taken into custody and arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to second-degree murder. Authorities contended that Jones's action was a random act of violence and that Johnson was not the intended victim. In November 2020, Joel Jones Jr. pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and four felony weapons charges.
