A short chase preceded the fatal shooting of a Georgia murder suspect by West Virginia State Police.
Brandon L. Johnson, 28, of Snellville, Georgia, died Tuesday at Raleigh General Hospital as a result of wounds sustained in the altercation. Lt. Michael Baylous on Wednesday morning provided additional details of the incident that took place on the West Virginia Turnpike.
According to the release, at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a trooper assigned to the Parkways Authority noticed a blue Dodge Intrepid speeding north on Interstate 77 in Raleigh County. Baylous said the trooper noticed that the vehicle fit the description of one possibly driven by Johnson and related to a murder investigation out of Rockdale County, Georgia.
The trooper was unable to catch up to the suspect and believed the driver may have exited the Interstate at Harper Road in Beckley, so he parked his cruiser north of the exit to continue watching for the vehicle.
A short time later, Baylous said a road maintenance crew member who was monitoring radio traffic spotted the vehicle on the Interstate 77 north entrance ramp at Harper Road.
According to the State Police news release, troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, but Johnson took off. The officer who had parked in the median, north of the initial traffic stop, set up spike strips that were successful in stopping the Johnson's car near the 47 mile marker.
When Johnson exited his vehicle, Baylous said he immediately pointed a handgun at the State Police officers, who responded by firing at the man.
In Georgia, Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett confirmed Johnson was wanted in Tuesday's killing of 57-year-old co-worker Pamela Harmon, of Covington, Georgia. Her body was found in the parking lot of a Goodwill donation center in Conyers, Georgia.
In a statement, Goodwill of North Georgia asked that people keep Harmon's family and Goodwill workers in their thoughts and prayers.
Johnson's body has been sent to the West Virginia State Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
