What began as an argument over a gun led to a calamitous minivan ride to Hammond with the driver shot dead and two men — including the shooter — wounded.
Keith S. Johnson, 22, was charged Aug. 15 with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and battery. He was arrested 10 days later and is being held without bail.
His next court appearance is Sept. 7 before Judge Gina Jones.
Hammond Police were called at 1:30 p.m. July 29 to the 5900 block of Park Place for a shots fired call. They found a red minivan crashed into a tree.
Earlier that day, a woman told police, she and her best friend, Johnson, met up with three other men including her boyfriend and another man, Frank Pulling, at a park near her boyfriend’s house in South Holland, Illinois
While the five drove to Hammond, the men noticed Johnson was carrying a gun. That sparked an argument with Pulling, who was “on papers” — on probation — for a gun charge.
He didn’t want to be pulled over and go back to jail, according to court documents.
Pulling would drop Johnson back off at the woman’s house in Hammond, so he could take an Uber home. He agreed to stop by a liquor store on the way home where Johnson bought wine.
Store video showed Johnson had a gun on his right hip.
While on the woman’s block, Johnson pulled out the gun and shot Pulling, 25, of Chicago, the driver, in the back of the head, according to court documents.
As shots were fired, another man jumped out of the van.
Johnson appeared to turn the gun on the woman’s boyfriend, shooting him in the left shoulder. The man was also wounded in the right thigh, but he later told police he didn’t know how that happened, because his adrenaline was running high.
As the gun jammed, the boyfriend fought to get it from Johnson, punching him in the face.
Johnson ran out of the van, with the boyfriend trailing him with the gun, running east between two houses. Police found two shell casings nearby.
Officers found Johnson shot in the shoulder and stomach, according to the affidavit. The boyfriend said he remembered firing the gun once. He does not appear to be charged. Johnson was the only one armed, according to witnesses.
The gun was stolen from Gary, the affidavit states.
mcolias@post-trib.com
