Johnston killers facing murder charges

In a follow-up to a previous post, the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia will seek murder charges against three Atlanta police officers over the killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

Johnston died in a shoot-out with officers who were executing a no-knock warrant, supposedly looking for drugs. When the officers broke into the home unannounced, Ms. Johnston grabbed her gun to fend off the intruders. The officers returned fire, hitting her 6 times and killing her.

The officers, Gregg Junnier, J.R. Smith and Arthur Tesler, are also facing charges of violation of oath by a public officer, making false statements, burglary, aggravated assault and false imprisonment. Smith could also be charged with perjury because, in obtaining the warrant, he stated that he had reliable information from an informant. That informant later stated that he was coerced, after the fact, by officers looking for a cover story and that the dealer they were supposedly looking for never existed.

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1 comment for “Johnston killers facing murder charges”

Edrea Davis , on the 10 of February, 2007 at 12:03 am said:
Keep in mind that the police do not work alone. More than a few people have to become involved in the corruption that goes on. The judges who sign questionable warrants as well as the DA’s who take many of these cases to trial, or to a deal, knowing full well that something is rotten in Denmark. Corrupt cops, dirty snitches, they all need to go down.

These police officers and others like them would not do this unless they knew they could get away with it. That’s why it happens primarily in poor neighborhoods where people can not get lawyers.

The FBI has the opportunity to look like the moral police this particular time. They should know what to look for since they employ a few of these practices themselves. Although, they’re a little smarter and cover themselves on the front end.

The system seriously needs an overhaul. I was amazed at how far the police will go when researching cases for my novel, SnitchCraft, a about a nightclub owner set up by a dishonest snitch and an expose on how deep the corruption runs in the criminal justice system under the guise of the “War on Drugs.”

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Edrea Davis , on the 10 of February, 2007 at 12:03 am said:

Keep in mind that the police do not work alone. More than a few people have to become involved in the corruption that goes on. The judges who sign questionable warrants as well as the DA’s who take many of these cases to trial, or to a deal, knowing full well that something is rotten in Denmark. Corrupt cops, dirty snitches, they all need to go down.

These police officers and others like them would not do this unless they knew they could get away with it. That’s why it happens primarily in poor neighborhoods where people can not get lawyers.

The FBI has the opportunity to look like the moral police this particular time. They should know what to look for since they employ a few of these practices themselves. Although, they’re a little smarter and cover themselves on the front end.

The system seriously needs an overhaul. I was amazed at how far the police will go when researching cases for my novel, SnitchCraft, a about a nightclub owner set up by a dishonest snitch and an expose on how deep the corruption runs in the criminal justice system under the guise of the “War on Drugs.”