In the early evening of November 30, 2022, the city of Huntington, West Virginia, was jolted by an act of violence that would claim the life of a local man. Christopher J. Johnson, a 40-year-old male, was found with gunshot wounds in the 1800 block of 9th Avenue. He was swiftly transported to a nearby hospital, but tragically succumbed to his injuries.
An autopsy would later reveal that Johnson had been shot twice in the back and once in the leg, with prosecutors stating that a total of 17 shots were fired during the incident.
The investigation into Johnson's death led authorities to identify four suspects, all from Kanawha County. Malik Hawk, 25, of Charleston; Lawrence Foye, 37, of St. Albans; Demarquis Patterson, 19, of Charleston; and Matthew Daughtery, 24, of Charleston, were all charged in connection with the murder. A significant break in the case came in January 2023, when a coordinated effort by the U.S. Marshals, Hurricane Police, and Putnam and Kanawha County deputies led to the arrests of Hawk, Foye, and Patterson. Hawk and Foye were apprehended during a traffic stop on Interstate 64, while Patterson was taken into custody later the same day in Buffalo.
The fourth suspect, Matthew Daughtery, managed to evade capture for several months, prompting a multi-state manhunt. The U.S. Marshals Service offered a reward for information leading to his arrest, considering him armed and dangerous. Finally, in August 2023, Daughtery was located and apprehended in Baltimore, Maryland, bringing an end to the extensive search.
As the legal process unfolded, it was revealed that the four men had allegedly conspired to murder Johnson, with court documents suggesting a planned robbery as a potential motive. In October 2023, all four men appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to charges that included murder, conspiracy, and the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Later, in a significant development in August 2024, Hawk, Foye, and Daughtery entered Kennedy pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, which could result in a prison sentence of one to five years. Demarquis Patterson, who had been arrested in January 2023 but later skipped a court date, was apprehended again in August 2024. The sister of Christopher Johnson, present in the courtroom during the pleas, expressed that this outcome did not feel like justice for her brother.
