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www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2818421Sept. 27, 2004, 10:30PM
Dad fired and then saw son
Police say case looks like tragic mistake
By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
For Eli Deshawne Johnson's graduation from Madison High School in May, some neighbors gave him money to buy a vacuum cleaner for his new apartment.
But like many young people fresh out on their own, Johnson, 18, still had a key to his parents' southwest Houston home and was welcome there any time, police said.
About 10:30 p.m. Saturday, his father, Forrest E. Johnson, an assistant pastor at a nearby church, returned home early from an out-of-town religious retreat to find his front door ajar. On guard because of previous break-ins, the 49-year-old pastor took his gun from his truck and went to the front door.
Seeing a dark figure he mistook for an intruder, Johnson fired once.
It was then, a neighbor said, that Johnson realized what had happened and began shouting: "I shot my son. I shot my son."
The young man was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he died of a bullet wound to the chest.
Police on Monday said their work is not complete, but an investigator said the incident appears to be a tragic case of mistaken identity. Forrest Johnson had a concealed handgun license, allowing him to keep the weapon in his truck, said Houston Police Department investigator Steve Straughter.
Neighbors said the slain teen, known to everyone as "Shawn," may have been washing clothes at his parents' home, though police have not confirmed why he was there. The younger Johnson, described as a former "A" student planning to attend college, had moved out of his parents' home several months ago.
The son did not have a car, so there were no telltale signs of his presence at the home, Straughter said. Suspecting an intruder, Forrest Johnson called his wife, who told him that no one was supposed to be there, police said.
"He had no way of knowing, per se, that his son was in there," Straughter said Monday.
Neighbors say the Johnsons are staying in a hotel because the teen's mother cannot stand to be at the house. Forrest Johnson has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Authorities said the case will be reviewed by a grand jury.
Johnson declined to comment when reached Monday at his auto repair shop on West Airport Road.
Friends described the Johnsons as a close, religious family. Johnson and his wife celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary last month. Neighbors said they were not aware of any problems between the father and son.
"I know it hurt him more than anybody else," said neighbor William Drisdell, who has known the family for more than 25 years. "He's a very loving person, a God-fearing man."
The Johnsons' home, in the 3900 block of Westhampton, has been broken into four times, said Evelyn Jackson, whose parents live across the street.
Police could not immediately confirm reports of previous burglaries, but neighbors said they, too, have fallen victim to such crimes.
Drisdell described an incident in the early 1990s when he and another neighbor caught a teenaged intruder inside the Johnson home and detained him until police arrived. The Drisdells said their own home has been burglarized at least three times.