Tarvese Jermaine Johnson

Tarvese Jermaine Johnson was a 17-year-old male with a promising future ahead of him. A student and football player at Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, Florida, he was known to his family by the nickname "Nuke." In 2015, he was navigating the exciting and challenging transition to adulthood, having recently become a father to a young child. He was balancing his life as a student-athlete with his new responsibilities, part of a close-knit family in the Dunbar community.

The evening of July 2, 2015, brought a torrential downpour to Fort Myers. Around 6 p.m., amidst the heavy rain, the sound of gunshots echoed through an apartment complex on Thomas Street, just south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. When Fort Myers Police Department officers responded to a "shots fired" call, they discovered a tragic scene on a second-floor breezeway. Tarvese and his uncle, 39-year-old Andrew Chisholm, were found suffering from fatal gunshot wounds. Despite the arrival of emergency medical services, both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation began under difficult circumstances. The severe weather had kept most residents indoors, leaving police with few immediate witnesses. Investigators with the Fort Myers Police Department canvassed the area, going door-to-door in search of anyone who might have seen or heard something, no matter how insignificant. Lt. Jay Rodriguez confirmed that two males had died and appealed to the public for help in finding the person responsible. Police stated they believed the shooting was a targeted attack, and relatives later expressed their belief that Andrew Chisholm was the intended victim and that Tarvese was tragically caught in the crossfire.

The double homicide sent a shockwave of grief through the family and the Dunbar community, which had already been shaken by violence. Tarvese’s grandmother and Andrew’s mother, Sharon Brown, voiced the family's profound pain and frustration. "It's bad, they are taking all our Black men," she told The News-Press. "Every time I turn around somebody's getting killed. Every week one of our Black boys is getting killed." The loss was felt deeply by all who knew the two men, leaving a void in the fabric of their family.

In the face of such a devastating loss, a powerful and positive legacy emerged. Tarvese’s cousin, Dwayne Jackson, a former college basketball player, had been planning to become a missionary and serve abroad. The murder of his cousins changed his path. Heartbroken and realizing the urgent needs in his own hometown, Jackson decided to stay in Fort Myers. He quit his job as a fourth-grade teacher and founded Hoops on Mission, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring at-risk youth through basketball, faith, and guidance. Jackson started by going into housing projects, organizing basketball camps, and using the sport to connect with and support young people, hoping to steer them away from the violence that claimed his cousins' lives.

As of February 2024, the murders of Tarvese Johnson and Andrew Chisholm remain unsolved. No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified by the Fort Myers Police Department. The investigation is open but has gone cold. The family continues to wait for answers and justice. The lasting legacy of Tarvese's life is not only in the memory of the young father and athlete he was, but also in the hundreds of children who have found a safer path and a sense of purpose through the mission that was born from his family's immense sorrow.