Fort Worth man accused of fatally shooting brother of NBA, former UT star Mo Bamba
A Fort Worth man was in custody Thursday in connection with the shooting death last month of the brother of Orlando Magic star and former University of Texas basketball player Mo Bamba.
Stanley Laroy Ford Jr., 30, was arrested Tuesday in the Oct. 18 fatal shooting of 26-year-old Ibrahim Johnson, the half-brother of Mo Bamba.
Ford faces a murder charge in the homicide, according to jail records.
Johnson died from shotgun wounds to his chest on the morning of Oct. 18 in an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Sycamore Drive, according to Fort Worth police and officials with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide.
Johnson was in the national spotlight in 2017 when he accused his younger brother of NCAA violations and said Mo Bamba should not be playing college basketball.
“No statement at this time. Thanks,” said Greer Love, who along with Bamba founded Lenox Partners, a company which manages Bamba. Love declined comment on Johnson’s death in a Thursday email.
A warrant written by Detective J. Cedillo indicated that Johnson and Ford, who were neighbors in a Fort Worth apartment complex, had been having issues with each other. The warrant obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave this account of the shooting:
For some time, Johnson had been having issues with two neighbors in the apartment complex, Johnson’s girlfriend told detectives. One of those neighbors was Ford.
The warrant didn’t provide any details on the issues.
Just days before he was shot, Johnson and one of those neighbors were involved in a physical altercation where that neighbor forced his way into Johnson’s apartment to fight him.
On the morning of Oct. 18, Ford’s girlfriend saw Johnson on her apartment patio and called 911. Johnson left the scene.
Minutes later, Johnson and his girlfriend were walking in the complex when a neighbor asked Johnson why he was on Ford’s girlfriend’s patio.
Seconds later, Ford, armed with a shotgun, also walked up to Johnson and asked the same question.
Ford then shot Johnson, according to the warrant. Johnson fell to the ground and Ford stood over him and shot again, the warrant stated.
In 2017, Johnson accused his younger half-brother Mo Bamba, who had been recruited to the University of Texas, of having accepted money and gifts from a financial adviser in Michigan.
Johnson made the announcement in a Facebook video, according to NBC Sports.
A rift between Johnson and Bamba was created when Bamba cut him out of his career in basketball, according to NBC Sports.
NCAA officials later found no violations and Bamba was allowed to play.
Ford was being held in the Tarrant County Jail on Thursday on $150,000 bond. He also was being held on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana.
