A former Tennessee sheriff is claiming she shot a door-to-door salesman because she thought he was a gang-ordered hitman.
Monica Johnson-Markwork, 51, of Cordova, told police that she had been in contact with her incarcerated son — who is serving a 20-year sentence for raping a child — and believed that a local gang put a hit out on the two of them, ABC Memphis reported.
Johnson was at home with her father in the Memphis suburb just before noon on Wednesday, when she saw on security cameras a man approaching her front door, according to an affidavit.
She thought he was holding a gun and told detectives that she yelled, “They’re here,” before running upstairs to hide in the attic.
Detectives said the man was actually a pest control salesman carrying an iPad.
He was shot in the chest and taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition.
Investigators determined that Johnson had fired the gun — believed to be her father’s — before running up to the attic.
She did not admit to firing a gun, but law enforcement found the weapon in the crawl space where she hid, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
She was charged with felony aggravated assault in the shooting, the Sheriff’s Office said.
SCSO detectives are conducting an investigation into a shooting that occurred at about 11:45 am at a home in the 1600 block of Brimhill Cove in Cordova. An adult male was transported by Shelby County Fire Dept. to Regional One in critical condition. One person has been detained. pic.twitter.com/x6cif0ufmF
— ShelbyTNSheriff (@ShelbyTNSheriff) September 27, 2023
She was released from jail on a $4,000 bond and has a court date set for Oct. 13, according to reports.
Johnson is a former Shelby County Sheriff’s captain, who was fired and indicted in 2016 on charges of misconduct and coercing a witness in her son’s rape case, ABC24 News reported.
She was freed on $20,000 bond, the outlet reported at the time.
It is unclear if that case was ever resolved.
With Post wires
