Anthony “One Leg” Bell-Johnson is back in a Tarrant County courtroom this week, facing a capital-murder retrial in a 2022 drive-by shooting that killed a 5-year-old and a 17-year-old. Prosecutors say gunmen opened fire on an open garage where children were playing on August 28, 2022, and that forensic evidence left in the street ties at least one shooter to the scene. The case has already gone through one trial without a verdict, so Bell-Johnson, who lost his leg in a childhood train accident and now uses a prosthetic, is again fighting for his freedom.
Prosecutors Lay Out Retaliation Theory
In opening statements, the state told jurors it believes the shooting was an act of retaliation, saying the defendants thought associates of Jamarrien Monroe had earlier fired at Bell-Johnson’s relatives, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Prosecutors say Bell-Johnson fired an AK-style pistol into the open garage and that about 15 shell casings were left scattered in the street, physical evidence they argue links a shooter to the drive-by. Assistant district attorneys Melinda Hogan and Bill Vassar are leading the prosecution.
Co-defendant Already Convicted
One of the two suspects, Jay Nixon-Clark, has already been tried and convicted. Because he was 16 at the time of the August 2022 shooting, reporting indicates he will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years. The Dallas Morning News reported that Nixon-Clark admitted firing a single round from a Kriss Vector that then jammed, while prosecutors contend Bell-Johnson fired additional shots into the garage…