A Jonesboro woman is facing a felony charge for buying her boyfriend the gun he used to kill a Nebraska police officer in May.
Jalita Johnson, 26, was arrested Monday and has been charged with knowingly making a false statement or representation in the acquisition of a firearm, said Nero Priester, spokesman in the Atlanta office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to a criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Johnson went to the Arrowhead Pawn Shop in Jonesboro on April 23 and bought a 9 mm Glock pistol fitted with a 50-round drum magazine at the request of her boyfriend Marcus Wheeler.
When police tried to arrest Wheeler on May 20 in connection with a shooting, the known gang member used that pistol to shoot and kill Omaha police Officer Kerrie Orozco. Wheeler was shot and killed during the shootout with police.
Authorities traced the purchase of the gun to Johnson, and ATF agents went to her home in Jonesboro on May 22 to question her.
Johnson initially told agents that she did not know where the gun was and that someone staying with her had taken it, according to the complaint. But she later admitted to agents that she bought the gun for Wheeler, who she said lived outside Georgia and would occasionally visit her.
She said Wheeler gave her the money for the gun and told her what type to buy, according to the complaint.
About the Author
