In the early morning hours of Friday, October 11, 2024, Roger Glenn Palmer, a 54-year-old man, arrived for his shift at Immanuel and Associates, a warehouse located on Executive Drive in Harrison Township, Michigan. Tragically, it would be his final day. He was discovered deceased at his desk, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound to the head. The quiet of the industrial park was shattered by the unfolding investigation as law enforcement descended upon the scene.
Surveillance footage from
the business would later reveal a masked individual arriving in a gray or silver SUV shortly after 5 a.m. This person entered the building prior to Palmer's arrival just before 6 a.m. A short time later, around 6:20 a.m., the same individual was seen leaving the building and driving away. This crucial piece of evidence provided investigators with their first lead in the hunt for the person responsible for this calculated and cold-blooded act.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect: Karl Marcellus Johnson, a 28-year-old former coworker of Palmer from Southfield. A manhunt involving the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police, the United States Marshals Service, and the FBI ensued, culminating in Johnson's arrest on October 15. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder.
During his arraignment in 41B District Court on October 17, Johnson entered a plea of not guilty. His bond was set at $5 million. Following a preliminary examination, a judge determined there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Johnson was bound over to Macomb County Circuit Court, with his arraignment in the higher court scheduled for June 24, 2025. If convicted of the first-degree murder charge, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
