Robert Earl Johnson

Robert Earl Johnson, a 54-year-old man from Kalamazoo, Michigan, was killed in the fall of 2020 when violence found him in the presumed safety of his own bed. In the early morning hours of Friday, October 9, Johnson was asleep inside his home in the 1600 block of North Church Street. In a devastating turn of events, a bullet penetrated a wall of his residence and struck him. First responders and police officers attempted resuscitation, but Johnson died from his wound a short time later, around 1 a.m.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety immediately launched an investigation into the fatal shooting. A collaborative team of investigators from the department's Criminal Investigations Division and Crime Response Team, along with the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team and the Michigan State Police, worked quickly to identify a person of interest. Their efforts led them to a suspect just two days after the shooting.

On Sunday, October 11, authorities located and apprehended the primary suspect, identified as 23-year-old Branden Charles Herrera, also of Kalamazoo. He was taken into custody in the 2600 block of Airview Boulevard and transported to the Kalamazoo County Jail. Herrera was arrested on multiple charges, including murder and various weapons-related offenses, and was scheduled for an arraignment on October 13.

The case against Herrera moved through the legal system over the next year and a half. In February 2022, Branden Charles Herrera pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of Robert Earl Johnson. The following month, in March 2022, a judge sentenced Herrera to 18 years in prison for the crime.