Tag: Westside Middle School

  • Mitchell Johnson Wal-Mart threat just a rumor

    Wal-Mart says holiday crowds, not threats, reason for police:

    I received an e-mail the other day from a nice reader from Fayetteville, Arkansas who said she received an e-mail stating that Wal-Mart was increasing its security because Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson was planning an attack on the store. It was alleged in the e-mail that Johnson was recently fired from there and that his girlfriend left him.

    I said to the reader that I doubt Johnson was planning anything because after his New Years Day arrest on weapons charges I would think that local law enforcement and the feds are probably keeping a close eye on him.

    Now, this article confirms it that Wally World just requested additional security for the Christmas season.

    Police Sgt. Matt Partain confirmed that Johnson was formerly employed by the store but was terminated months ago. He further confirmed that Johnson’s girlfriend is a current Wal-Mart employee.

    “Yes his girlfriend works there, but we haven’t even seen him there since we’ve been there,” he said.

    Partain said Johnson is not believed to have had any involvement in a recent bomb threat at the Wal-Mart in north Fayetteville.

    So the people of Fayetteville have nothing to fear at Wal-Mart except the usual, other Wal-Mart shoppers.

  • Mitchell Johnson indicted

    FAYETTEVILLE : Johnson indicted on gun charge:

    Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson was indicted yesterday on federal weapons charges. Johnson was stopped on New Year’s day and found to be in possession of a 9mm handgun. He’s looking at 10 years in prison and a $250K fine. He only spent 7 years locked up for the Jonesboro shootings.

    Johnson is out on bond and his court date is scheduled for December 3rd.

    10 years isn’t even close to what he should be receiving for the lives he took.

  • Mitchell Johnson pleads not guilty

    U.S. school shooter pleads not guilty to new weapons charge:

    Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson pleaded not guilty in court yesterday to federal weapons charges. If you recall the 23-year-old Johnson was found with a 9mm handgun and marijuana on New Year’s Day.

    For once I’m glad he pleaded not guilty. I hope the feds can put him away for a lot longer time than he got from the state of Arkansas.

  • Mitchell Johnson to face federal charges

    Attorney: Mitchell Johnson may face federal charge

    If you’ll recall Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson was arrested back on New Year’s Day on firearms and drug charges. He was pulled over and police found a loaded 9mm and pot in his van. Well, the state is dropping the charges and the feds are filing charges against him.

    Fayetteville attorney Doug Norwood says the move by prosecutors appears to be an effort by authorities to put Johnson in prison — something they could not do after the Jonesboro shootings. Johnson and Golden served their time in juvenile facilities. Norwood says he was told Johnson’s case will go before a federal grand jury.

    Which entirely may be true (and it probably is) but if Johnson wasn’t in possession of drugs and a gun this wouldn’t be an issue now, would it?

    Still, any time in prison is better than the treatment he gave his victims.

  • No safety for Golden

    No safety for Golden

    Sheriff Cannot Guarantee Jonesboro Shooter Andrew Golden’s Safety:

    The Sheriff who represents the same county where Jonesboro shooter Andrew Golden used to live says he can’t guarantee Golden’s safety if he returns to Arkansas.

    Craighead County Sheriff Jack McCann said hostility toward Golden and accomplice Mitchell Johnson still remains nine years after they opened fire on those fleeing Jonesboro Westside Middle School during a fake fire drill. The shootings were on people’s minds again Friday, as Golden turned 21 and likely left federal custody a free man for the first time.

    “It’s a concern because there’s still a lot of hostility towards him and Mitchell Johnson,” said McCann, who was the county’s chief deputy in 1998. “I really don’t think any of the family members would do something to them; I think somebody out here would want to do something for the notoriety.”

    Did the sheriff just serve a warning or declare open season?

  • Other Jonesboro shooter set to be released

    Other Jonesboro shooter set to be released

    Jonesboro shooter Andrew Golden likely to be released Friday:

    Andrew Golden is one of the gunmen from the Jonesboro school shooting. Today is his 21st birthday, meaning that, more than likely, he will be released from jail today.

    At the time of their conviction, there was a loophole in Arkansas state law that prevented Golden and cohort Mitchell Johnson from being kept behind bars longer than their 21st birthday.

    Johnson was released 2 years ago. Now it’s Golden’s turn. He’ll be out on the streets with a clean slate and no probation.

    It only took Johnson 18 months to get in trouble with the law again. I wonder how long it will take before Golden has his next run-in with the law.

  • Victim’s family reacts to Jonesboro shooter

    Victim’s family reacts to Jonesboro shooter

    Victim’s family reacts to Mitchell Johnson tape:

    Shannon Wright was the teacher who was killed in the Jonesboro massacre. Her husband, Mitch Wright, had the following reaction to the taped deposition of released gunman Mitchel Johnson.

    “If he would just come clean and say yes i shot these people because i wanted to do this, versus just getting on there and saying i didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” he said.

    “He looks at his self as being a victim to this day he will not take any responsibility for what he did.”

    “Have they been rehabilitated?…have they changed? i think the community would like to know…from what i’ve seen and read…I don’t believe so,” said Wright.

    Take responsibility? That will be the day. School killers who survive and are convicted never take responsibility. In their warped world, they’re the victims. Never mind the fact that Johnson and co-coward Andrew Golden killed 5 people and injured another 10.

    Speaking of Golden, he’s set to be released in less than two weeks on the 25th thanks to a now-closed loophole in Arkansas law that at the time of their convictions that said they could only be held until their 21st birthdays.

    And people wonder why I have no qualms about teen murderers being tried as adults.

  • Jonesboro gunman sued

    Jonesboro gunman sued

    On tapes, Jonesboro shooter explains, apologizes:

    Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson is being sued in a wrongful death suit by the families of his victims. In a taped deposition, he’s trying to make himself out to be the victim. He’s even trying to lay all the blame on the other gunman, Andrew Golden.

    Mitchell insists the event was fellow shooter Andrew Golden’s idea.

    He repeatedly says no one was supposed to get hurt, just scared.

    “I was told that he was tired of people messing with him, and he was going to scare people. He was going to prove a point that he’s not a pushover, and he asked me to help him obtain to obtain a vehicle to get to and from where he needed to go. And that was supposed to be that only,” he said.

    “That was what?” an attorney asked in the deposition.

    “That was supposed to be my involvement in all of this,” Johnson responded.

    Instead, four students and a teacher were shot and killed and eleven people were hurt.

    You know you could have said no because that was a stupid idea. But you didn’t, and you took part in the shooting. The only reason you’re out of jail is because of a loophole in Arkansas law at the time regarding juvenile offenders.

    And here come the excuses…

    In the taped deposition we learn Mitchell Johnson was sexually abused when he was younger, used marijuana with his father and was a gang member.

    “I didn’t really think all the way through, I didn’t understand that, you know, what I was doing potentially put people in harm, and that if they did get killed, they don’t come back,” he said.

    Even the stupidest of children know that when you shoot somebody with a gun, there is a very good possibility of them “not coming back”.

    Mitchell says he understands why many people think he should still be behind bars. “I ask myself a lot, do I deserve to be free. I don’t think I do, in all honesty, you know?”

    Well, at least we agree on something.

  • Jonesboro killer pleads innocent

    Jonesboro killer pleads innocent

    Jonesboro school killer enters plea to drug, gun charges:

    Mitchell Johnson, one of the Jonesboro gunmen, pleaded innocent yesterday to charges of drug possession and unlawful weapon possession. Both are misdemeanors.

    So let me get this straight. Pot and a loaded 9mm are found in his van, but he pleads innocent. I get the feeling that he’s going to try to blame his friend who was in the van with him, crossbow killer Justin Trammel.

    And if you’re wondering why Johnson wasn’t immediately placed back in jail is because once he was released from jail at age 21 due to a loophole in Arkansas law at the time of the Jonesboro shooting, Johnson has basically no criminal record.

  • Jonesboro shooter due in court today

    Jonesboro shooter due in court today

    Westside Shooter Due in Fayetteville Courtroom Today:

    Mitchell Johnson, one of the gunmen in the Jonesboro massacre, is due in court today on charges stemming from his arrest 2 weeks ago.

    To refresh your memory, he was pulled over in a van that had marijuana and a loaded 9mm in it. And oh yeah, also a guy who killed his father at 15 with a crossbow.

    He faces misdemeanor charges of drug possession and carrying a weapon at his arraignment today. It didn’t take us long to hear about Johnson again after he was released. I doubt it will be long again.