One brother acquitted, other gets life in auction house slaying

Months after his younger brother was found not guilty in a 2014 deadly shootout at a Fort Worth auction house, Romon Henderson has received a far different fate.

On Thursday, a jury convicted Henderson, 30, of capital murder in the same case. Because prosecutors had not sought the death penalty, he was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Romon and Ra’an Henderson had both been accused in the robbery and fatal shooting of Sheila Johnson, a 54-year-old Air Force veteran who worked at the 4A Good Auction House, 3921 Mansfield Highway.

Johnson, who sometimes slept at the business because of a string of break-ins, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds inside the auction house on April 13, 2014.

The crime scene indicated she had put up a fight before her death, emptying the magazine of a .22-caliber rifle in a shootout with her killers.

Ra’an Henderson, 27, was the first to go to trial in the case and, in February, a jury found him not guilty.

His attorney, Tim Moore, told the Star-Telegram after the trial that Ra’an Henderson always insisted he was not at the auction house when Johnson was slain and that there was no evidence to prove otherwise.

Assistant district attorney Michele Hartmann acknowledged Friday that there were differences in evidence between the two cases.

“Obviously the case differed between the two brothers because Ra’an did not give a statement to police so his case was completely circumstantial,” said Hartmann, who prosecuted the latest case along with Tracey Kapsidelis.

“Romon did give a statement to police that we were able to introduce into evidence before the jury,” Hartmann added. “The case had both circumstantial and direct evidence.”

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Romon Henderson acknowledged to homicide detectives that he and his brother were at the auction house when Johnson was killed.

He told detectives that the brothers had gone there intending only to rob the place. He said his brother had warned him that a woman was inside the business and “that they were going to hold a gun on her and collect money and property.”

Romon Henderson told investigators the brothers were beginning to enter the business when numerous shots began to be fired.

“Romon Henderson stated that as he entered the business, he observed a female shooting from an elevated area to his left and observed Ra’an Henderson shooting at the female,” the affidavit stated.

Hartmann said she was happy with Thursday’s verdict.

“We’re very pleased that this family could have some justice, finally, with the loss of their loved one,” Hartmann said.

Romon Henderson has appealed his conviction, court records show.

His defense attorneys, Fred and Eric Cummings, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Hartmann said the district attorney’s office still intends to prosecute Ra’an Henderson on other pending charges for which he remains in the Tarrant County Jail — unlawful carrying of a weapon, burglary in connection with an earlier break-in at the auction house, and an unrelated aggravated robbery charge.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "One brother acquitted, other gets life in auction house slaying."