Tony Johnson

Tony Johnson, a 41-year-old Black resident of Hyannis, Massachusetts, was a father who worked jobs at Home Depot, UPS, and Dollar General. In 2023, he had completed a 75-month federal prison sentence for his role in a drug conspiracy. His life was cut short in a violent encounter in the early hours of Sunday, March 16, 2025.

The incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. in a parking lot on North Street in Hyannis. Johnson and his alleged assailant, Alex Greene, had been in the same pub, The Auld Triangle, but had not interacted. After leaving, Johnson was in the parking lot urinating near a car when Greene’s wife exited the bar and confronted him. This led to an altercation with Greene, who allegedly fired a single, close-range gunshot that struck Johnson in the head. Barnstable police officers, responding to reports of a gunshot, found Johnson on the ground as bystanders tried to help. Officers administered CPR and used a defibrillator before paramedics arrived. Johnson was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:38 a.m.

Witnesses told police they saw a dark-colored pickup truck speeding away from the scene. The investigation moved quickly after the suspect’s wife called 911 from inside the fleeing truck. Police in the neighboring town of Yarmouth located the vehicle in a convenience store parking lot. The driver, 36-year-old Alex Greene of West Yarmouth, was taken into custody without incident. His wife directed officers to a firearm that had been placed on the ground nearby. Greene, who is white, was a firearms instructor and was scheduled to begin working as a Barnstable County sheriff’s deputy that week. He had no prior criminal record.

Greene was arraigned in Barnstable District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder and was initially held without bail. The case was later transferred to Plymouth Superior Court due to the victim’s longstanding relationship with an employee of the Barnstable court. Greene’s attorneys have indicated they plan to argue that a diabetic episode caused him to act irrationally. Johnson’s mother, Mattie Johnson, has expressed anguish over the case, stating her belief that if the roles were reversed, her son would not have been granted bail, and she has pleaded for her son’s life not to be forgotten.

In late 2025, a judge granted Greene $100,000 cash bail. He posted the amount and was released from jail, subject to house arrest and GPS monitoring. As of January 2026, the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office was appealing the judge’s bail decision, with a hearing scheduled for the end of the month. Greene remains free on bail awaiting trial.