On May 10, 2012, at approximately 4:45 PM, William Junius and Lamont Matticx were shot to death in front of a house located on the northwest corner of 54th Street and Hoyne Avenue near the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois.
Shavell McDougle lived nearby and told the police that she received a call not long after the shooting and ran to the house. She saw Junius lying on the ground, with blood under his face and neck, and Matticx on the porch steps, bleeding from a chest wound.
Shavell said she asked Matticx who shot him, and he replied: “Bo shot me. Tell them Bo shot me.” Before he died, Matticx repeated this same message to his grandmother, Quendell McDougle.
Both women told police that Bo was the nickname for Tywan Mason, who was a member of the Vice Lords gang. Matticx and Junius were members of the Gangster Disciples, a rival gang.
Alex Ware had called 911 after hearing shots. He was two blocks east of the shooting and told police that he saw a white Chevrolet Tahoe or Suburban drive toward him on 54th Street. He said there was one man inside the vehicle, which stopped at a stop sign, then headed south, down Damen Avenue. He saw the SUV’s license plate, tried to memorize it, and wrote down numbers on a slip of paper that he later gave to the police. Officers entered this information into a database and found a vehicle that lined up with the plate and description.
A short while later, Ware joined two detectives and rode with them in an unmarked car to a house in the 5500 block of Damen Avenue. There was a white Tahoe in the back, which Ware identified as the vehicle he saw. Later, at the police station, he viewed a lineup and identified 26-year-old Anthony Johnson as the driver of the vehicle. Johnson, who ran a neighborhood cab service, was arrested that afternoon and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
In a statement to police, Johnson said he had no involvement in the murders; He had given “Bo” rides in the past, and he had no idea what his passenger was planning this time.
Police searched Johnson’s home and found a “blue steel revolver” in a rear bedroom.
Police arrested Mason a year later.
Johnson’s trial began in the fall of 2016, more than four years after his arrest. The state’s theory was that Johnson was accountable for the murders because he drove Mason to the crime. Johnson chose a bench trial, and Judge Erica Reddick of Cook County Circuit Court heard the case.
Shavell and Quendell McDougle testified about Matticx’s last words and the ongoing turf war between the Vice Lords and the Gangster Disciples.
An evidence technician testified that the weapon found at Johnson’s house was inoperable and not the source of bullets found at the crime. The state and defense also entered into a stipulation that gunshot residue testing did not detect any particles on Johnson’s hands.
They also stipulated to the introduction of Johnson’s cellphone records from May 10, 2012, and to the testimony of an employee from the cellphone service provider, who testified that there were 16 calls between Johnson’s phone and another specific phone number that day. The state would later say that Mason’s phone was the other number.
Ware testified that he was helping a friend work on his truck when he heard eight or nine gunshots from Hoyne Avenue, 100 or so yards to the west. He saw a white vehicle, either a Tahoe or Suburban, with smoke coming out of the window every time a shot rang out. He said the vehicle drove toward him and stopped in front of him for about 10 or 15 seconds. He said the SUV’s sole occupant, whom he identified as Johnson, rolled down the passenger side window about a foot and pointed a gun at him. He said he heard the gun click but not fire.
Ware had called 911 twice within two minutes of the encounter with the SUV, and the 911 tapes were played at Johnson’s trial. Ware told the 911 operators that the vehicle “shot right past” him and never said during these calls that the vehicle stopped near him or that that driver had pointed a gun at him.
A prosecutor showed Ware a photograph of the gun found at Johnson’s house and asked whether it was “similar or different” from the gun Ware said Johnson pointed at him. Ware said, “That’s the kind of gun that was pointed at me.”
On cross-examination, Ware acknowledged that he didn’t tell the 911 operator about having a gun pointed at him. He also said that he had testified before the grand jury that the SUV was only stopped for three to four seconds. He also said that his courtroom testimony was the first time he said that he heard a gun click.
During his redirect examination, Ware testified that he didn’t tell the 911 operator about the vehicle stopping because he was trying to get help to the people who had been shot.
Virgil Johnson Jr. testified that he was cutting the grass when he heard gunfire. He said he saw a white SUV with a passenger drive past him on 54th Street. The passenger held a silver pistol. He said the car slowed down as it approached Damen Avenue, but it didn’t stop, as Ware had testified. Virgil never identified either man in the SUV.
Johnson testified that he ran a neighborhood taxi service while looking for a job repairing cars. He said his business was word-of-mouth, and customers either called his cellphone or the landline at his grandmother’s house or just showed up asking for a ride. He said he charged between $5 and $40, depending on the trip. Some customers sat in the front seat, he said.
Johnson testified that he had given Mason four or five rides prior to the shooting, including one on May 9, 2012. Johnson said he knew him only as a customer.
After the May 9 ride, Johnson said, Mason called that night and asked about a ride the next day. Johnson agreed, but then Mason said he didn’t need one. On May 10, Johnson said, he ran into Mason near a liquor store, and Mason said he needed a ride to 69th Street. Mason paid him $10, and they drove to the location. Mason told him to wait. Mason returned to the car, sat in the front, and they drove toward 54th Street and Hoyne Avenue. Johnson said he was caught off guard when Mason began shooting and said he “hit the gas” out of fear. He said he didn’t force Mason out of his Tahoe because he didn’t want to tell a man with a gun what to do.
Johnson said he didn’t have a gun with him and never pointed a gun at Ware or anybody else as he drove away from the shooting. He said he didn’t immediately call the police because he wanted advice from his cousin who worked at a law firm. He said he was concerned for his safety because Mason knew where he lived.
Johnson also testified that he was not in a gang and didn’t associate with gang members.
During cross-examination, a prosecutor showed Johnson a screenshot of his phone’s “frequently contacted” list. Mason’s picture was there, under the name “Booq,” along with a friend, Johnson’s fiancée, and family members, none of whom had photos. Johnson said he didn’t need photos of the others to remember who they were.
Several of Johnson’s customers testified about his taxi service, the fares they paid, and Johnson’s practice of allowing customers to sit up front. One of them, Brande Mitchell, said she saw Johnson nearly every day and that he “had nothing to do with” gangs.
During the state’s closing argument, the prosecutor said: “Whether he did it because he’s a part of the gang or whether he did it for money knowing that Tywan Mason was a Vice Lord going into [Gangster Disciples] territory he knew exactly what he was doing … He did give a ride to Tywan Mason. And again, even if he did it for money knowing what he was doing, that's accountability.”
The prosecutor said that the phone records showed “numerous” calls between Mason and Johnson that showed they were planning the murders. They also said that Johnson demonstrated awareness of Mason’s intent when they made the stop at 69th Street, where Mason picked up a weapon, on the way to the shooting.
Johnson’s attorney said the state failed to prove its case. Johnson feared for his life and simply complied with Mason’s directions before and after the shooting. He said Ware’s testimony was refuted by Virgil’s, and that calls between Mason and Johnson were very short, consistent with someone looking for a ride, rather than planning a crime.
Although both the state and defense referred to telephone calls between Mason and Johnson, neither side introduced evidence establishing that Mason was the owner of the other number.
On December 21, 2016, Judge Reddick convicted Johnson of both murder counts and later sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
Johnson appealed, arguing that there had been insufficient evidence to support his conviction.
On May 19, 2021, a three-judge panel from the Illinois Court of Appeals vacated Johnson’s conviction. It said the state had failed to show that Johnson was accountable for the murders or that he helped plan or execute the crimes.
Ware’s testimony, the court said, was the state’s strongest evidence, but it failed to stand up to scrutiny. Ware, unlike Virgil, had testified he only saw one person in the SUV, but “this testimony was so obviously inaccurate that it casts doubt on the rest of his testimony,” the court said.
In addition, the ruling said the stipulation on the phone records had inaccurately described the back-and-forth between the two numbers. Some calls were counted twice when the call was forwarded to voicemail or to another number. The actual number of interactions was eight, not 16, and “this evidence is very different from the ‘numerous’ calls from which the state asked the trial court to infer that Mason and defendant were plotting a double murder,” the court said.
During oral arguments, the state conceded its error in counting the calls and acknowledged the lack of evidence establishing that the calls were between Mason and Johnson.
The court also said the state had wrongly speculated that Johnson knew Mason was picking up a weapon when he made the stop at 69th Street. There was no evidence to support that contention, the court said.
The ruling also criticized the prosecutor for suggesting Johnson might have been a gang member. “Given the total lack of evidence that defendant had any gang involvement, and the significant evidence presented that he affirmatively did not, it was utterly inappropriate for the state to make such a suggestion,” the ruling said.
Johnson was released from prison that day. The state dismissed the case on June 17, 2021.
Mason pled guilty to a single count of murder on September 20, 2022, and received a sentence of 20 years in prison.
On July 19, 2023, Johnson filed a petition for a certificate of innocence in Cook County Circuit Court.
“Despite the reversal of my convictions, I continue to be dogged by them,” he wrote. “They are on the record that is accessed by potential employers and law enforcement. I understand that the fact of the reversal of those convictions is not reflected in these records. Because I am innocent, it is important that a Certificate of Innocence be issued to me. This will be a public certification that I did not help a person murder others. It will materially assist me as I live the remainder of my life by removing from the public record the stigma of my convictions. This will help to give me peace of mind for the remainder of my life. It matters to me that I am innocent.”
A judge granted Johnson’s innocence petition on January 22, 2025, enabling him to receive state compensation for his wrongful conviction.
– Sara Beltran, Yuze Long, Justin Newhouse, Richard Ramirez, and Michelle Rodriguez
Posting Date: 07-14-2025
Last Update Date: 07-14-2025
