In a tragic turn of events on April 28, 2018, Oliver Lee Johnson, Jr., a 25-year-old male, was killed inside his West Memphis, Arkansas, apartment. An off-duty Forrest City police officer, Johnson was not the intended target of the violence that claimed his life. He was at home with his children when gunfire erupted outside his apartment complex. A stray bullet penetrated the building's facade and struck him in the upper torso, leading to his fatal injury.
Neighbors reported hearing as many as 40 gunshots during the incident, which shattered the peace of the afternoon.
The investigation into Johnson's death saw several developments. Initially, authorities arrested 19-year-old Bobby Patterson in connection with the shooting. However, he was soon released after providing a verifiable alibi that invalidated eyewitness testimony. The focus of the investigation then shifted, leading to the arrests of Demarcus Darnell Parker, 25, and George Henderson, 22. Authorities alleged that Parker was the driver and Henderson was the shooter in what they described as a gang-related drive-by shooting targeting rival gang members. The bullet that killed Officer Johnson was one of many fired during this altercation.
The legal proceedings that followed were complex and took an unexpected turn. In September 2020, a Crittenden County jury found Demarcus Donnell Parker guilty of first-degree murder and a host of other charges related to the shooting. He was subsequently sentenced to two life sentences plus an additional 835 years in prison. However, in a stunning reversal in March 2023, the Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed Parker's conviction. The court ruled that his constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated due to the significant delay between his 2018 arrest and his 2020 trial, a period exceeding the legally mandated 12 months. This decision led to Parker being set free. George Henderson was also arrested and faced multiple charges, including capital murder, for his alleged role as the gunman in the incident.
