Investigators believe a 28-year-old DeKalb County man was upset that a former co-worker had filed a complaint against him, causing him to be transferred to another Goodwill store, the Rockdale County Sheriff said Wednesday.
But no one could have imagined Brandon Lamar Johnson would have sought deadly revenge against the Covington woman, a friendly face for many years at the donation center. Or that hours later, Johnson would also be dead from a gunshot wound after being shot by troopers nearly 500 miles away.
About seven hours after he allegedly shot and killed Pamela Yvonne Harmon after she arrived for work at the Goodwill store, Johnson was spotted speeding on I-77 north in West Virginia, police said Wednesday. Minutes later, he dead.
The blue Dodge Intrepid appeared to match the one driven by a suspect in a homicide hundreds of miles away in Rockdale County, so a trooper attempted to catch up with it, West Virginia State Police said Wednesday. The Dodge didn’t stop, but additional troopers caught up with it and again attempted to stop it, Lt. Michael Baylous said in a news release.
This time, Johnson wasn’t able to avoid stop sticks placed in the roadway, which disabled the Dodge and forced Johnson out of the car, according to police.
“When the driver exited his vehicle, he immediately pointed a handgun at the troopers,” Baylous said. “Troopers responded to the threat and fired their weapons.”
Johnson was struck and taken to Raleigh General Hospital, where he later died, according to police. An autopsy will be conducted at the West Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Back in Georgia, investigators believe Johnson was the man who shot Harmon, 57, shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday outside the Rockdale Goodwill store where she had worked for 11 years.
About 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, deputies were called to a parking lot at the intersection of Ga. 20 and Oglesby Bridge Road near Conyers, the sheriff’s office said. Outside the Goodwill store, deputies found Harmon dead from a gunshot wound.
On Wednesday, Harmon was remembered by those who frequently dropped items off for donation.
“(She was) very polite, very professional,” Betty Maddox told Channel 2 Action News. “Only good things that I can say about this lady. And my heart goes out to the family right about now.”
Funeral arrangements for Harmon had not been finalized late Wednesday.
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