Two recent homicides in the City of Statesboro appear to be related.
Two men are deceased and one of them had pending warrants for murder at the time of his own death.
On December 1, 2023, the Statesboro Police Department posted on their Facebook page that warrants had been issued for 19-year-old Anthony Jermail Johnson for the death of Antawan Strickland. Strickland was killed on Success Court in Statesboro on November 30, 2023.
The agency relayed that the family of Johnson, who was local to Statesboro, was aware of Johnson’s outstanding warrants. Johnson, however, did not turn himself in and authorities were unable to locate him for the near two and a half months before his death.
Fast forward to February 12, 2024 when SPD officers responded to Cambridge the Pines Apartments on Lanier Drive in response to a call of shots fired.
Upon arrival SPD located an individual who had been shot. Two others were injured in the incident and arrived at East Georgia Regional Medical Center at the time officers arrived at the Pines. Their injuries were non-life threatening. The individual left behind at the Pines did not survive.
SPD said in a news release that the investigation determined the three individuals were connected and “a dispute between the identified individuals resulted in gunfire.” SPD did not release additional details, pending additional investigation.
Following the February 12 shooting, an obituary was posted on Hill’s Mortuary and subsequently to Facebook. That obituary listed Anthony Johnson and was accompanied with a picture matching the photo police used in the effort to locate Johnson on his outstanding warrants. The obituary has since been deleted but the image and the initial link are still visible.
Chief Broadhead of the Statesboro Police Department confirmed Wednesday that Johnson was the deceased individual in the February 12 incident.
The agency released this information Wednesday morning as well:
Detectives , working with the GBI’s Coastal Crime Lab, positively identified the decedent as Anthony Jermail Johns on (19) of Statesboro. Johnson was familiar to detectives, as at the time of his death he had active warrants for Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault. That case began on 11/30/23 when Antawan Strickland was shot to death at a residence on Success Court in Statesboro. Based on the results of that investigation, detectives had issued warrants for Johns on on 12/1/23 and requested his family’s assistance in safely taking him into custody. Johnson instead fled Statesboro and his warrants were turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force for service. Despite the best efforts of Federal authorities, Johnson was able to remain at large and at some point returned to Statesboro. SPD detectives believe that Johns on received assistance from others to remain a large, and the investigation into these other aiding parties continues
On 2/12/24, the evidence suggests that Johns on made contact with three individuals at The Vault Apartments (1699 Statesboro Place Circle) before riding with them to Cambridge the Pines . A drug transaction then took place between Johns on and the three individuals . At some point during the transaction, Johns on became angry and produced a firearm which he pointed and subsequently discharged at the three occupants of the car, striking two of them. The occupants of the car then returned fire, mortally wounding Johnson. The occupants of the car have cooperated with detectives as have other independent witnesses located ins ide of the complex who witnessed the shooting.
Based on the death of Johns on, the only offender in the Success Court homicide, that case will be closed. Antawan Strickland’s family has been notified of the clearance of their son’s case.
At this point in the Cambridge the Pines investigation, detectives have determined, in consultation with representatives of the District Attorney’s Office, that the force used against Johns on was allowed by law. Johnson was in the process of committing an aggravated assault against the three males in the car to which they res ponded. No charges are anticipated related to Johnson’s death against any of the males in the car.
Other charges related to the drug activity and events uncovered by the investigation are likely, however. Should further information develop which changes this charging decision, it will be provided to the media in a subsequent release.
