Columbus police charge 15-year-old in Wednesday pawn shop homicide

Columbus police have arrested a 15-year-old in the Wednesday shootout at the Columbus Pawn Shop that left an employee dead.

The teen was released from the hospital Friday, and charged as an adult with murder. He is to have a first-appearance hearing at 8 a.m. Saturday in Columbus Recorder’s Court, but a full hearing will be postponed until 9 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Investigators said a second suspect, age 21, also was wounded in the shooting. He remains in the hospital, police said.

Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryant identified the pawn shop worker fatally shot as 68-year-old Joseph Howard Johnson III, a part-time employee. A second worker was wounded.

Police were called to the 2241 Fort Benning Road business around noon Wednesday. They found one wounded suspect pawnshop off Torch Hill Road, just west of the shop, and another in a vacant lot about a block south of the building, which is on the northwest corner of Fort Benning Road and Torch Hill Road.

Investigators said the shootout occurred during an attempted robbery.

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Columbus police charge 15-year-old in Wednesday pawn shop homicide."