Johnny Lee Johnson, a 45-year-old African American man, was found dead on the porch of his home on 13th Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, on September 20, 2016. The cause of death was a gunshot wound. Investigators learned Johnson had been involved in a prison altercation with someone who was in a relationship with a high-ranking female gang member in Wilmington, and authorities believed the killing may have been revenge tied to that connection.

An 18-year-old Wilmington resident, Zibree Washington, was charged with first-degree murder after witnesses reported seeing him flee the scene on a bicycle and surveillance footage captured a bicycle near the crime scene. Johnson’s girlfriend said Johnson had known Washington and had spoken to him shortly before the shooting. Washington was arrested October 4, 2016, in Philadelphia and held without bail.

Defense attorneys highlighted that no witness saw Washington pull the trigger, witness descriptions differed and did not match him, and one identification involved showing only a single photograph. On the day jury selection was to begin, Washington pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison. Does anyone have information about Johnson’s connections in Wilmington or the events leading up to that September day?