Democratic Party chaiman killer had ‘Gwatney’ note, 16 guns

PDF Extra: See what authorities found at his house

The Associated Press

SEARCY — A search of Timothy Dale Johnson’s home turned up 14 guns, a bottle of anti-depressants, his last will and testament and a Post-It note that bore his victim’s last name and a telephone number, sheriff’s documents show.

Police are exploring any link between Johnson, 50, and Bill Gwatney, 48 and the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party. Johnson shot Gwatney to death Wednesday and was himself killed by officers after a 30-minute chase.

Gwatney owned three Little Rock area car dealerships and Wednesday’s search of Johnson’s home turned up two sets of keys for vehicles from Gwatney car lots. The guns included a pistol and 13 long guns.

Officials say the funeral for Gwatney will be held Monday at a Little Rock church.

Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, says services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. DeCample says flags at the state Capitol will be flown at half-staff Monday.

Police aren’t sure of any link between Johnson and Gwatney — but Johnson drove more than 30 miles to Gwatney’s office in Little Rock after walking out on his job at a Target store early Wednesday.

Court documents show officers searching Johnson’s home found 13 long guns, a pistol, a prescription antidepressant and the name “Gwatney” written with a telephone number. Police wouldn’t say whether the number matched the Democratic headquarters or a car dealership, if either.

“Those are things we’re investigating. Right now we don’t have any indication of motive as far as it deals with Mr. Gwatney,” Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

After Johnson was killed in a shootout with police, officers found two guns in his pickup. Police also found a computer in Johnson’s home and are going through it, Hastings said.

Johnson was a member of the Cleburne County Shooting Club. Ken Buster, a former club secretary, said Johnson was quiet and that he never heard him talk politics. Buster described Johnson as “average to subaverage” with a gun.

Until Wednesday morning, when he wrote profanity-laced graffiti on a store wall and was questioned by supervisors, Johnson had been a good employee in a stockroom, a Target spokesman said.

“This was different behavior for him,” spokesman Brie Heath said Thursday. “The manager asked him if he needed to talk. At that point he turned in his badge and left the building.”

But his behavior had been alarming enough that the company had called police about it.

According to Conway police spokesman Sharen Carter, Target fired Johnson before 8 a.m. Wednesday because he had written on a wall. A manager had called police because of an “extremely irate” employee, Carter said. The graffiti, including “Target is run by dumb jocks and their sorority whores” had already been cleaned and Johnson had left by the time officers arrived.

While Conway police called Johnson’s departure a termination, Heath said the man left of his own accord. “When he left yesterday, he voluntarily left. We asked him ‘What’s going on? Do you want to talk about something? It was ‘Let’s talk.’ It was not about termination,” Heath said.

Johnson worked an overnight shift at Target store, meaning he would leave late in the evening for work and return home around noon. He would wake up in the afternoon to leash up and walk his dog.

If something troubled Johnson, his neighbors couldn’t tell. The only hint came the day before the shooting, when neighbor Jeannie Liles’ husband saw a paper target set up in the backyard. They dismissed it as practice for the upcoming bow hunting season in Arkansas.

They never saw Johnson with any of the firearms he owned.