Magnolia Police Chief Glenn Maxwell and Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe announced Thursday afternoon that a second suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting incident at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building on Sunday, Aug. 24, that left two men dead. Timothy Jamarcus L. Johnson, 23, of Camden, was arrested Thursday, Aug. 28, and charged with terroristic act. Byron Lavell Dunn, 20, of Magnolia, was arrested Monday, Aug. 25, and charged with terroristic act.
A press conference and first appearance hearing for Johnson are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today at the Columbia County Detention Facility.
Dead are Brandon Thomas Hobdy, 23, of Garland, Texas, and Wayne Alton Payton II, 24, of McNeil. Hobdy was a student at Southern Arkansas University and was a senior wide receiver on the SAU Mulerider football team. Payton was a former SAU student.
Dunn is currently in the Columbia County Detention Facility under $1 million bond. Bond has been set at $1 million for Johnson, and he is currently in jail awaiting a first appearance hearing.
According to a probable cause affidavit released Thursday afternoon by the office of Deputy Prosecutor David Butler, Arkansas Code Ann. Sec. 5-13-310 defines “terroristic act” by “shooting at an occupiable structure with the purpose to cause injury to another person or property.”
The incident occurred around 1 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at the VFW Hut on Hwy. 82 East in Magnolia. According to the affidavit, the initial call came in to Central Dispatch at 1:13 a.m. reporting a fight at the VFW. CCSO Deputies Greg Hawley and Donnie Ainsworth were dispatched. At that time, the Magnolia Police Department advised officers were enroute as well. Central Dispatch then advised that a second call had come in reporting gunshots fired.
Upon arrival, Hawley located one victim, later identified as Hobdy, on the ground surrounded by a large group of people. Deputies were advised that another victim, later identified as Payton, had been shot and transported by private vehicle to Magnolia Regional Medical Center. Both men were later pronounced dead at the hospital.
CCSO Detectives Kelly Blair, Shawn Crawford, and Leroy Martin arrived and began to process the scene and interview possible witnesses.
According to the affidavit, one witness reported there was a fight inside the building which involved several subjects jumping on one male. The witness stated that the victim there was “beat down.” Other people in the crowd broke up the fight, the witness stated, and the party continued. Another fight occurred sometime after that. The crowd began to go out of the building. As this witness started out of the building, according to the affidavit, he saw a man that was called “Vail” pointing a handgun toward the crowd and shooting toward the building. This witness told investigators he turned to go back in the building, and reported that “Vail” shot more than three times. He then went inside and hid in the building.
When this witness was shown a photo line-up, he identified Dunn as being “Vail,” and as the man who was shooting the gun in front of the VFW building.
On Monday, Aug. 25, authorities interviewed an eyewitness. According to the affidavit, this witness stated that Dunn ran to the front of the VFW building and shot a chrome colored revolver into a crowd of people. The witness stated that Dunn shot a couple of times slowly and then rapidly, then ran away from the scene. The eyewitness positively identified Dunn as the shooter of the gun into a crowd.
That same day, investigators re-interviewed another witness. This witness stated that Dunn was standing in front of the VFW building just east of the door, near a car. The witness said that Dunn pointed a small caliber revolver and shot in a southwest direction at least four times. According to the affidavit, the witness said the first shot heard was a larger caliber gun and that shot came from closer to the entrance and exit gate to the VFW property.
A warrant was issued for Dunn’s arrest on Monday, Aug. 25, for committing a terroristic act. At a probable cause hearing Tuesday, Aug. 26, Circuit Judge Hamilton Singleton continued the $1 million bond set by the warrant, and Dunn’s case was bound over to Circuit Court. Attorney Robert Jeffrey with the public defender’s office was appointed to represent Dunn.
According to the affidavit, during a subsequent interview Dunn admitted that while at the party he did fire multiple shots from a .32 caliber handgun. The affidavit stated that Dunn denied shooting at anybody, saying that he shot straight in the air.
During the continuing investigation, a second suspect was identified as Johnson. According to the affidavit, witnesses interviewed identified Johnson as firing shots while standing near the fence and gate area at the entrance to the VFW building, and that he fired the first shots during this incident. One witness identified Johnson from a photo line-up. Other witnesses identified Johnson by name or knowing him as “Timmy,” and that he lived in Camden.
A law enforement officer working in the Camden area and known to investigators in Columbia County, reported that he knew Johnson and knew him as “Timmy.”
The affidavit stated that a witness who knew Johnson by name and sight, identified him as firing multiple shots from a handgun east of the front gate, and firing back toward the building and the crowd.
According to the affidavit, during an interview Dunn stated that a man was shooting near the highway.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Magnolia Police Department are cooperating in a joint investigation, which is still ongoing.
Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office.