JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The trial for a former Jackson police officer, who was charged with killing a man in 2024, is underway.
Opening statements were made in the trial of Marcus Johnson on February 10, 2026. He was previously indicted on the charges of first-degree murder and shooting into a dwelling. He pled not guilty on October 8, 2024.
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Johnson was charged in connection to the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Carlos Collins, which occurred at the Tapestry Apartments on April 9, 2024. Johnson was captured in Louisiana on April 10, 2024, after a chase from Vicksburg that started on Interstate 20.
During opening statements on Tuesday, prosecutors said Johnson beat Collins, who was an ICU nurse, with an axe multiple times before shooting him 16 times. They said Collins was shot six times in the head.
According to the defense, Johnson killed Collins in self-defense. The defense said Johnson and Collins had an on again, off again relationship and that Johnson was over at Collins’ apartment as a guest the day the shooting occurred…