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Law enforcement were called to a neighborhood in Cordova, Tenn., in response to a shooting (via Shelby County (Tenn.) Sheriff’s Office). Inset: This booking photo provided by Shelby County Sheriff’s Office shows Monica Johnson. Monica Johnson-Markwork, 51, of Cordova, a Memphis suburb, was charged with felony aggravated assault in the shooting, news outlets reported, citing a statement from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
A former sheriff’s captain is facing criminal charges after allegedly shooting a salesperson who visited her home — because she thought he was a hitman.
Monica Johnson-Markwork, 51, is accused of shooting a man at her home in Cordova, Tennessee, which is about 20 miles east of Memphis, last week. According to local ABC affiliate WATN, Johnson-Markwork was in her living room with her father and saw an “unknown subject” on security cameras. The person was allegedly wearing a hoodie and carrying an assault rifle as they approached the front door of the house.
“They’re here,” she allegedly yelled before running upstairs to hide in the attic, WATN reported, citing an affidavit in the case.
Johnson-Markwork allegedly shot through the door before going upstairs, according to The Associated Press.
“They” was apparently a reference to contract killers that Johnson-Markwork believed were targeting her. Johnson-Markwork’s son, Nehemiah Rimmer — currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for a 2018 child rape conviction — told her that a local gang had put a hit out on both of them, WATN said.
Detectives determined that the man at Johnson-Marwork’s door, however, was not part of that alleged gang, but that he was a door-to-door pest control salesman. He wasn’t wearing a hoodie, but rather a polo shirt and baseball cap, and it wasn’t a gun he was carrying — it was an iPad, WATN reported.
According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, an “adult male” was taken to the hospital after the shooting, which happened at around 11:45 a.m.
“SCSO detectives are conducting an investigation into a shooting that occurred at about 11:45 am at a home in the 1600 block of Brimhill Cove in Cordova,” the official SCSO account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted on Sept. 27. “An adult male was transported by Shelby County Fire Dept. to Regional One in critical condition. One person has been detained.”
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SCSO detectives are conducting an investigation into a shooting that occurred at about 11:45 am at a home in the 1600 block of Brimhill Cove in Cordova. An adult male was transported by Shelby County Fire Dept. to Regional One in critical condition. One person has been detained. pic.twitter.com/x6cif0ufmF
— ShelbyTNSheriff (@ShelbyTNSheriff) September 27, 2023
Officials have not released the victim’s name. He was reportedly shot in the upper torso and taken to a hospital in critical condition.
According to the affidavit, WATN said, deputies found bullet holes in the front door and two bullet casings in the house. Johnson-Markwork reportedly “would not admit to shooting a gun” and said she hid in the attic.
Her father, however, reportedly told detectives that she had fired the gun, which was ultimately found in a crawl space in the attic where Johnson-Markwork had been hiding.
Johnson-Markwork has been charged with aggravated assault and her bond was set at $4,000, WATN reported. Shelby County Jail records did not indicate that she is currently in custody.
Johnson-Markwork is a former sheriff’s captain for Shelby County, according to WATN. She was fired and indicted in 2016 on charges of official misconduct and for coercing a witness in her son’s child rape case. That case remains pending.
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