Tadaris Antonio Johnson, 25, was killed in a drive-by shooting on Saturday, May 20, 2023, during a large gathering on Paula Avenue in Escambia County. A second man was wounded with a gunshot to the leg in the same attack. The vehicle used in the shooting was a white Hyundai Sonata that had been stolen in February 2023; law enforcement recovered that car the next day in an empty wooded lot on N T Street.

Investigators identified 19-year-old Jaquaris Ethridge as a suspect. Ethridge was arrested June 24, 2023, in connection with a separate fatal drive-by that killed 70-year-old Myra Hayes. During an interrogation he acknowledged being in the stolen car during the Paula Avenue shooting but said he was not the shooter and that another man had been the intended target. Ethridge was charged in Johnson’s murder on July 3, 2023, and faces charges related to both homicides; a court date is set for September 24, 2023.

A visitation for Johnson was held June 2, 2023, at Christian Family Funeral, followed by a celebration of life June 3, 2023, at First Baptist Church in Warrington. Does anyone have information about Johnson, the gathering on Paula Avenue, or the white Hyundai Sonata?