Self-defense issue raised in deadly 2022 Central Lubbock fatal shooting

Jeff Nicholson told jurors on Monday he didn't dispute that the evidence prosecutors will present them will show that his client, 19-year-old Darius Johnson Jr., shot and killed 39-year-old old Steven Colon last year in the front yard of his home in Central Lubbock.

"He did it; he shot him," Nicholson said.

However, the issue will be whether or Johnson, who pleaded not guilty to a count of murder in the 140th District Court, was justified when he shot Colon, he said.

He told jurors to expect to hear from his client during his trial.

"I believe the evidence is going to show that, at the end of the day, my client shot this person, but he reasonably and legitimately believed that if he hadn't done that, that he and the guys he were with were going to be hurt by Mr. Colon, and his brother, quite frankly," Nicholson said.

To prevail on a self-defense claim, jurors will have to believe Johnson's deadly actions were reasonable and justified because Colon presented an immediate threat to the lives of himself or his friends.

Before presenting their opening statements, attorneys worked to pare down a pool of 70 potential jurors to a 12-member jury panel to hear the evidence against Johnson, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since June 16, 2022.

A deadly encounter

Johnson's charge stems from a Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation that began when officers responding to a 7:55 p.m. June 5 shots-fired call in the front yard of a home in the the 1700 block of 25th Street, found Colon suffering from two gunshot wounds.

Responding officers provided first aid until paramedics arrived and took Colon to University Medical Center where he died.

Investigators obtained evidence including, security camera videos and witness statements that pointed to Johnson being the shooter, according to court documents.

Investigators obtained video from a home security camera that showed a Hispanic male and two Black males arrive at the home in a white Mercury Grand Marquis. One of the black men, the backseat passenger later identified as Johnson, can be seen wearing a red cap and green shirt.

Prosecutor Russell Mayne told jurors he expected Johnson's companions that day, both of whom will be given testimonial immunity, to testify at the trial and tell them about the events that led up to the shooting.

'Over a dirt bike'

Mayne told jurors that Colon and his brother were working cars most of that day. By the time Johnson and his friends arrive, Colon was doing yardwork and was holding a rake when the driver of the vehicle began arguing with him about a dirt bike.

Mayne said that as the driver backed away, he tells Colon, "This isn't over." Colon, Mayne said, tossed the rake in his hands against a fence and says, "Let's get it over with now."

Court documents state eye witnesses told investigators that the man in the red cap brandished a gun and fired three times in Colon's direction. The witness described the gun as a big gun with a "long stick" sticking out the bottom. The witness said the stick, which investigators collected and identified as an extended magazine, fell out of the gun when the trio left.

Mayne said Colon was struck twice by Johnson's bullets.

"Over a dirt bike," he said. "A dirt bike that wasn't even his."

Mayne told jurors he expects the evidence to show that Colon used drugs that day.

"That fact is not going to change or justify the events that went down that night," he said.

Court documents state Johnson was identified as the shooter after investigators tracked the Grand Marquis to an apartment in the 3400 block of Nashville Avenue and found the driver.

A search of the vehicle yielded a green shirt and red cap seen on video that was sent to a Texas Department of Public Safety lab for analysis. Investigators also found a fingerprint they traced to a juvenile who was also in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Investigators spoke with the driver of the vehicle and the juvenile who reportedly said that on the day of the shooting they were with Johnson, whom they knew by the nickname: D5.

They said they went to a Rosa's restaurant hours before the shooting to buy a cake for D5 because it was his birthday.

Video from the restaurant's security cameras showed the group arriving about 1:50 p.m. that day and walking into the building. "D5" could be seen wearing the same red cap and green shirt gunman wore at the scene of the shooting, court documents state.

A Rosa's employee told investigators the group were at the restaurant talking about it being the birthday of the person in the green shirt.

A tipster called Crime Line and identified D5 as Johnson, saying his birthday was June 5 and that he just turned 18.

Johnson surrendered to police in Marlin on June 15, 2022.

The trial continues this week.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Attorney: Client acted in self-defense in 2022 fatal Lubbock shooting