On May 14, 2022, law enforcement officers in South Bend, Indiana, were dispatched to investigate reports of gun violence that spanned two separate locations in the city. The initial call came in shortly after midnight, directing police to the Lasalle Park Homes Apartments near the intersection of Jefferson and Wellington. Upon arrival, officers discovered a male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.
While investigators were securing that scene, a second report was received regarding another shooting victim located a short distance away on the 1100 block of Cedar Street.
At the second location, police found the body of Annaliese Matson, a 25-year-old White female, inside a vehicle. She had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The investigation revealed that she had been in the passenger seat of a car driven by her boyfriend, John Parnell Thomas, during a confrontation that occurred earlier that night. According to court documents, Thomas had driven to the Lasalle Park Homes area where he engaged in a heated argument with 32-year-old Eric Johnson. The dispute escalated into an exchange of gunfire, with evidence suggesting multiple shots were fired by both men.
After the shootout, Thomas fled the scene with Matson still in the vehicle. Approximately seventeen minutes after the initial confrontation, Thomas contacted emergency services to report that a woman in his car had been shot. Investigators noted that the route Thomas drove was within blocks of a local hospital, yet he stopped on Cedar Street where authorities ultimately found Matson. Eric Johnson, the other individual involved in the exchange, was transported to a hospital but died from his injuries.
Police arrested John Parnell Thomas in connection with the violence. He was initially charged with murder and a firearm enhancement for the death of Eric Johnson. The investigation indicated that while Thomas fired two shots, Johnson had fired ten times, and Matson was struck during the crossfire. In March 2023, Thomas accepted a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison, and charges related to two other cases were dismissed as part of the deal.
