In the early morning hours of February 5, 2017, just one day after his 39th birthday, Joseph Lamar Johnson was ambushed as he returned to his Muncie, Indiana home. At approximately 4:15 a.m., in front of his residence in the 1500 block of South Perishing Drive, three gunmen opened fire, striking him multiple times. The nature of the attack led the Delaware County Coroner to describe it as an execution. First responders found the 38-year-old Black male deceased at the scene.
Johnson, known affectionately as 'Joey Crackk,' was a father to seven children and had recently welcomed a new baby. Friends and family described him as a man with an entrepreneurial spirit who had plans to open his own construction company. He was also known for his creative and artistic side, with a passion for drawing and restoring houses. The crime scene was extensive, with numerous evidence markers indicating the volley of shots fired, and the area was blocked off for hours as detectives began their investigation into the city's first homicide of the year.
Despite an intensive investigation that has involved the Muncie Police Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, no arrests have been made in Johnson's murder, and the case remains unsolved. In the years following his death, his mother, Brenda McCoy, has been a tireless advocate for justice, organizing community events and maintaining a billboard with her son's picture, pleading for information. She has expressed her belief that a man from Madison County, who is incarcerated on unrelated charges, is responsible for her son's death, though investigators have not found sufficient evidence to make an arrest. The motive for the shooting remains unclear to the public.
