Affidavit: Planned drug deal led to killing of former Wyatt track star

Three suspects charged recently with capital murder in the death of a former O.D. Wyatt track star had been planning to rob the victim when they lured him to a southeast Fort Worth road for a purported drug deal, court documents state.

Chester Lee Johnson Jr. was driving with his cousin early Nov. 10 when he received two phone calls from a man wanting to meet him for a drug deal on Village Creek Road, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Johnson’s cousin told homicide Detectives Jerry Cedillo and E.C. Pate that the pair then stopped in the 3700 block of Village Creek, where they were approached by two men.

The cousin told police that as Johnson discussed a drug transaction with one of the men, the other man pulled a gun from his waist band, stepped up to the pair’s 1999 Acura and began shooting inside, striking Johnson multiple times.

Seated on the passenger side, the cousin said he was able to drive the car several blocks away and then call 911.

A forensic analysis of Johnson’s phone by police showed he had last been in contact with a phone number belonging to 22-year-old William James Harris, one of three people recently charged with capital murder in connection with Johnson’s death.

Also charged with capital murder are Anthony Tyrell Marshal, 17, and Candra Sanders, 21. All three suspects remained in the Tarrant Jail Wednesday with bail set at $250,000 each.

According to the affidavit, investigators interviewed Harris on Nov. 16, and that he admitted to witnessing the shooting and implicated a person he said was responsible for the shooting. After several weeks of investigation, the affidavit states, investigators determined that Harris had lied and implicated the wrong person.

Harris was interviewed by police again on Jan. 7. This time, the affidavit states, he admitted to lying but said he did so because he was scared of retaliation. Harris told detectives he had called Johnson to buy crack cocaine for him and Marshal to resell.

He said it was Marshal who fired into Johnson’s vehicle, the affidavit stated.

“William stated Anthony told him he shot into the vehicle because Chester was trying to ‘short’ him on the amount of crack cocaine,” Cedillo wrote in the affidavit.

The next day, detectives interviewed Marshal, who admitted to shooting Johnson as part of plan he had with Harris and the third suspect, Sanders, to rob Johnson of his drugs.

Marshal claimed that Sanders had enlisted the men’s help to rob Johnson because she was upset that he had threatened to slap her if she didn’t stop selling crack cocaine in his area, the affidavit states.

Marshal told detectives that although the plan was to grab Johnson’s crack cocaine and run, he ended up shooting into the car after an argument broke out about the quantity of drugs and Johnson began to drive away.

Marshal said he and Harris then fled on foot through the neighborhood, the affidavit states.

He told detectives that he shot at another vehicle after hearing it speeding up behind them only to realize that it was Sanders and another woman coming to pick them up.

He said the four then returned to Harris’ apartment, where Marshal learned later that morning of Johnson’s death.

Johnson was a former Wyatt High School track star and state champion.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Affidavit: Planned drug deal led to killing of former Wyatt track star."