In the late summer of 2017, a trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for two friends from Columbia, Tennessee, ended in a senseless act of violence that claimed the life of 37-year-old Christopher Rochelle. On September 4, 2017, in the parking lot of a Travelodge hotel in Ocean Springs, Rochelle was shot and killed, not by a stranger in a random act, but by the man who had accompanied him on his journey.
The man, Nicky Joe Johns, 38, had been friends with Rochelle for years.
The two had driven to Mississippi together and had been using drugs for several days leading up to the fatal encounter. What exactly transpired between the two friends in the final moments of Rochelle's life remains unclear, but the motive, as described by the district attorney, was pure greed. In a chilling sequence of events captured by the hotel's video surveillance, Johns was seen shooting Rochelle in the back of the head while Rochelle was still seated in the driver's seat of their vehicle. After the shooting, Johns callously dragged his friend's body from the car and went through his pants pockets before getting back into the vehicle and driving away.
The investigation quickly identified Johns as the primary suspect. A few days later, U.S. Marshals located him in Lafayette, Louisiana. A vehicle pursuit ensued, and after abandoning his car, Johns was found hiding in a trash can and taken into custody.
In July 2019, Nicky Joe Johns pleaded guilty to a charge of murder. For the crime of killing his friend for the small amount of money in his pocket, Johns was sentenced to life in prison. The swift and diligent work of the Ocean Springs Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Task Force brought a resolution to the case, ensuring that the man responsible for the violent and tragic death of Christopher Rochelle would be held accountable for his actions.
