By Pat Culverhouse

A Minden man has been charged in connection with a Tuesday, July 1 shooting incident where numerous shots were fired at a vehicle stopped at a stop sign at the corner of Fort St. and E. Union.

Chief of Police Jared McIver said Jeremiah J. Johnson, a 24-year-old resident of the 600 block of Marion St., turned himself in to police today (Monday) following an intense search.

Johnson is charged with illegal use of a weapon during a crime of violence and two counts of aggravated criminal damage to property. He is being held at Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center under a $150,000 bond.

McIver said despite the number of shots fired during the incident, no one was injured even though several bullets struck the vehicle.

Det. Lt. Shane Griffith, head of the MPD’s new Violent Crimes Unit, said Johnson allegedly stepped from his vehicle across the street from the Harris Corner store and fired multiple shots. Quick response by MPD patrol officers helped preserve the scene and led to the discovery of critical pieces of evidence, he said.

“We had evidence and a description of the shooter’s vehicle which we broadcast immediately,” Griffith said. “Officer Kendale Booker found the vehicle parked at a residence on East Street, but no one was around.”

Investigators reportedly followed leads that identified their suspect and it was the constant pressure of the search that led Johnson to turn himself in, Griffith said.

“We learned of the places he frequented and were on his trail every day until he had nowhere else to go,” he said. “I believe he realized we weren’t quitting so he came in.”

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.