FAYETTEVILLE -- Two men from Marianna have been arrested in connection with a Sept. 10 fatal shooting at a home in Fayetteville.
Christopher Johnson Jr., 19, of Marianna, was arrested Monday in Marianna on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence, according to information from the Fayetteville Police Department. Johnson was being held Thursday in the Washington County jail in lieu of $1 million bond.
Paul Whitaker, 18, of Marianna, was arrested Monday in Marianna on charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution and as an accomplice to tampering with physical evidence, according to police. Whitaker was being held Thursday in the Washington County jail in lieu of $25,000 bond. Records at the jail and in circuit court show two Fayetteville addresses for Whitaker.
Officers were sent to 1862 W. Pleasant Woods Drive around 10:30 p.m. Sept. 10 on a report of a shooting, according to information from Fayetteville police. They found a 16-year-old male in the home who had been shot.
The name of the juvenile who was killed isn't being released, according to Sgt. Anthony Murphy.
The incident was determined to be a homicide, police said. Police obtained arrest warrants for Johnson and Whitaker after several weeks of investigation.
According to the affidavit for an arrest warrant for Johnson, people at the residence gave conflicting accounts to police when officers first arrived on the scene, with one man identified as "the suspect" found with blood on his shirt, hands and arms. The suspect told officers he saw another man known only as "KJ" run out of the apartment after the shooting.
In text messages to the victim's mother, a witness stated the suspect was playing with a gun and shot the victim in the chest, according to the affidavit.