Motorist fatally shoots road rager wielding baseball bat — and DA issues ruling



Just after 3:30 a.m. on July 6, 35-year-old Tamir Johnson pursued the driver of a Toyota Prius for two blocks before cutting off the Prius driver at South Fifth and Hamilton Streets in Allentown, Pennsylvania, authorities told Lehigh Valley Live.

With that, Johnson of Whitehall Township allegedly used a metal baseball bat to strike the driver’s side door of the Prius, the outlet said.

Interviewed after the shooting, Matt Tuerk — the Democrat mayor of Allentown, which is about 60 miles north of Philadelphia — told WPVI that the incident was 'senseless' and was the 'product of people kind of losing their cool and having in my estimation too easy access to guns.'

The Prius driver — fearing for his life — responded by shooting Johnson, Lehigh Valley Live said, citing investigators.

The Prius driver fired one shot with a handgun and hit Johnson in the torso, WPVI-TV reported, adding that Johnson died a short time later.

After the shooting, the Prius driver drove his car a short distance away, parked, and dialed 911, investigators told Lehigh Valley Live, adding that the Prius driver remained at the location until police arrived and then handed over his legally possessed gun. Indeed, WPVI — citing investigators — noted that the Prius driver has a license to carry.

RELATED: Road rage suspect opens fire on fellow motorist in Chicago, cops say. But victim is a concealed carrier — and wins shootout.

Interviewed after the shooting, Matt Tuerk — the Democrat mayor of Allentown, which is about 60 miles north of Philadelphia — told WPVI that the incident was "senseless" and was the "product of people kind of losing their cool and having, in my estimation, too easy access to guns." However, Tuerk in the same interview characterized the shooting as "self-defense."

Blaze News on Thursday reached out to Tuerk, asking him what he meant by his two statements and how they can exist side by side. The mayor on Thursday didn't immediately respond to Blaze News' questions.

RELATED: Male, female — both just 17 years old — accused in road rage shooting

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan on Monday ruled that no charges will be filed against the driver who pulled the trigger, saying the deadly shooting was justified, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

"The investigation revealed that [the Prius driver] did not provoke Johnson's conduct," the outlet added, citing a news release from the DA's office.

Johnson leaves behind three children, his family said, adding that he helped at-risk youths. His family added in the DA's news release that Johnson was "so much more than a moment of conflict" and was "a provider, a protector" whose "children were his world," Leigh Valley Live noted.

Holihan said that "while the law justifies the use of deadly force in [this] situation, it is not something to be taken lightly," the outlet noted. The DA also told Lehigh Valley Live that the incident "has profound consequences for the family of Johnson, and also for the driver of the Prius, who has expressed remorse for what transpired."

Mark Schlofer of Eastern Arms — a gun shop in Catasauqua, which is about five minutes from Allentown — told Blaze News on Thursday that the driver who pulled the trigger "did everything perfectly" in reaction to the road rage attack, adding that "this is the way you do it" and that "you have to wait until you feel like your life is threatened" before firing. Schlofer also told Blaze News that "everybody knew ... right out of the gate" that it was self-defense.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Another race hoax? School board member charged after allegedly planting noose on her own desk



A member of the school board of directors in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been criminally charged after she apparently fabricated a race hoax by allegedly fashioning a noose and planting it on her desk.

Around 7:40 a.m. on January 10, the Allentown Police Department received a call from LaTarsha Brown, a 42-year-old city employee and school board member. Brown reported that a half-hour earlier, she had arrived at her desk on the third floor at City Hall and discovered "what she believed to be a noose" lying there, a statement from the APD said.

'Acts like this have long plagued our communities and serve as a painful reminder of the work still ahead.'

Brown reportedly acknowledged to police that she picked up the item and took a picture of it but did not do "much more than that." She also quickly fired off a lengthy email to her work colleagues, ostensibly about the alleged incident.

Within days, community activists gathered outside City Hall to demonstrate against the supposed "hate crime." "Enough is enough," wailed Union Baptist Church Pastor Benjamin Hailey, who referred to the alleged noose as "a symbol of hatred."

"Acts like this have long plagued our communities and serve as a painful reminder of the work still ahead," added state Rep. Napoleon Nelson (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. "I am deeply dismayed but unfortunately not surprised."

By that time, law enforcement was already busy conducting an investigation into the alleged noose. Officers identified all the city employees who accessed the third floor of City Hall between the time Brown left work on the afternoon of January 9 until she returned to work the following day.

Cops also asked each of the employees whether they were willing to provide a sample of their DNA. "Every city employee agreed, except Ms. Brown," the APD statement said, though she eventually reversed course after the Lehigh County D.A.'s office secured a search warrant.

— (@)

At some point, Brown apparently seemed to lose interest in getting to the bottom of alleged noose. Though she was "initially cooperative," police said, Brown "later requested that the investigation be discontinued."

Her request was apparently denied, because the alleged noose and the DNA samples were sent over to the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab for testing.

On March 10, the PSP Forensic DNA Division issued a report claiming that "Ms. Brown's DNA matched the DNA profile obtained from the swabs of both the outer surface and the inner knotted portion of the noose after taken apart," APD claimed. APD reiterated that "no other person's DNA profiles" were found on the evidence collected in connection with the case.

On Monday, APD announced that Brown had been charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and filing a false report, both misdemeanors. Together, the charges carry a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a $7,500 fine.

'LaTarsha Brown is innocent. LaTarsha Brown deserves justice.'

Not only do police have forensic evidence that indicates Brown concocted a race hoax, but other circumstantial evidence may point to a possible motive.

By the time the alleged noose appeared on her desk, Brown had already filed discrimination complaints against a coworker and had even emailed her superiors on January 9 — the day before she found the apparent noose — to inquire about resolving those complaints via mediation, according to Lehigh Valley News, which cited court documents.

After finding the alleged noose, she emailed her bosses again, claiming to have reached her "breaking point."

Brown did not respond to a request for comment from Lehigh Valley News.

When reports of the alleged noose first broke, Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk expressed concern, calling it "horrible and unacceptable." However, he now seems less convinced of its legitimacy.

"It’s doubly shocking that an employee would — that she would have fabricated this incident," Tuerk said after Brown was charged.

Still, Brown has some supporters who remain convinced that she is the innocent victim of a vicious hate crime. Activist Josie Lopez, who orchestrated the noose protest back in January, claimed that the charges are a "smear campaign" against Brown in "retaliation" for daring "to stand up against injustice."

"LaTarsha Brown is innocent. LaTarsha Brown deserves justice," Lopez urged.

"I am calling on the people of Allentown, the media, and everyone who believes in justice to stand with LaTarsha. We will not be silent."

Brown is an elected member of the Allentown School Board of Directors, and her term expires this year. However, according to the Lehigh Valley News, she has yet to file paperwork to run for re-election, and the deadline for submission expired last week.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!