Deon L. Johnson, a 36-year-old man from Columbus, Ohio, was shot and killed on April 16, 2014 while sitting in his car in the parking lot of the North YMCA on Sandalwood Place. The shooting followed an argument and Johnson was pronounced dead shortly after police arrived. The car he was in was taken to the morgue, and witnesses reported a gray or beige 2000 Chevy Impala fleeing the scene.

Investigators determined the shooting was connected to a drug deal that went wrong. Laqueven R. Cook, age 26, was identified as the shooter; he had a prior history that included armed robbery and had been released from prison seven months before the killing. Cook was later sentenced to 11 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification, a term to run concurrently with another sentence arising from a separate shooting that occurred shortly after Johnson’s death.

The shooting happened near a YMCA where children and families were present; the facility was locked down and parents rushed to pick up their children. If anyone has information about what led to the confrontation that day or saw the 2000 Chevy Impala that left the scene, please come forward.