FROM STAFF REPORTS

JASPER – According to local law enforcement authorities, Reginald WarrenJohnson, 37, of 1088 SW 5th St. in Jasper, turned himself in to Hamilton County Sheriff J. Harrell Reid Sunday morning, Sept. 21 at Reid’s home in Jasper and was subsequently charged with second-degree murder by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in the death of Michael Dewayne Johnson, 19, of Lake City, who perished of a single gunshot in an altercation in Jasper late Saturdayevening. Reginald Johnson is being held at the Hamilton County jail with no bond at this time.



According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Johnson was pronounced dead at Trinity Community Hospital in Jasper shortly after the shooting, and was then transported to Jacksonville, where the victim’s autopsy was performed.



Law enforcement officials have stated the violence resulting in Johnson’s death is still under investigation, but allegedly began Saturday evening, Sept. 20 at approximately 11:30 p.m. in Jasper when a group of men were engaged in a heated dispute with one another at Martin Luther King Drive and 6th Ave. SW. Reginald Johnson is not related to the victim, Michael Johnson, according to law enforcement officials.



A grand jury will be convened in Jasper at the Hamilton County Courthouse within 21 days of Reginald Johnson’s arrest, according to the Sheriff’s Office, and will have many options based on the evidence they are presented, which could include pursuing second-degree murder, a “no true bill” ruling or a lesser charge.