COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — Family and friends are demanding a stop to violence after a 19-year-old was gunned down Friday while walking home.
Newnan police say an officer was flagged down around 7 a.m. by somebody who said there was a body in the front yard of a home on Pinson Street.
Investigators believe that Derrick Montez Johnson had been killed hours before. His family said he was walking home from a party around 1:30 a.m.
Beasley and her friends said they were at the party and watched Johnson leave.
“He was just coming home, just trying to get to the house and I don't know what it was that he ever did to anybody. He was a very good dude, very good,” said Shannon Beasley.
“He’s like a younger brother to everybody, you know?” said friend Jeremy Clark.
Clark said Johnson graduated from high school last year and had just gotten a job. Clark said the teen had a troubled past. Channel 2’s Jessica Jaglois found references to gang activity on his Facebook page. But Clark said the 19-year-old had left that life behind.
“He changed his life around, trying to get a job and do the right thing and this happened,” said Clark.
The home where Johnson was found has nothing to do with his murder, police said.
The investigation is ongoing. Police have not made any arrests.