Another man has been cuffed in connection with a cold-blooded murder from December 2022, the Houston Police have announced. The arrest of Kermit Ladell Johnson, 38, on charges of capital murder links him as the second suspect in the killing of 29-year-old John Charles Gibson III.
According to the official city news release, Johnson is in federal custody on separate charges but now faces a capital murder charge in the 232nd State District Court. Darrell Bell, 40, another man alleged to be in cahoots with Johnson, had already been charged with capital murder in the 184th State District Court. The fatal incident in question occurred early morning, and at the time, left police with more questions than answers.
The investigation into the murder, which unfolded on the second floor walkway of a Main Street motel, was initially shrouded in mystery with no suspects or motives at the forefront. The Houston Fire Department paramedics declared Gibson dead at the scene. However, relentless police work eventually led to the identification and May 31, 2023 arrest of Bell.
Last Friday, Johnson who was already under federal lock and key, for unrelated offenses, joined his accused partner in the grim ledger of justice. "Mr. Gibson was shot on the second floor walkway of a motel at the above address," Houston PD Homicide Division Sergeant J. Brooks and Detective C. Flora reported, in the news release, which marked a somber end to one chapter of the long, harrowing road to justice for Gibson's family.
