Roger Leroy Johnson

Case record: Roger Leroy Johnson

Overview

Roger Leroy Johnson was a 48-year-old California man suspected of killing a grandmother and her three grandchildren. He committed suicide on May 19, 2001 atop his late wife’s grave.

Timeline

• May 16, 2001 — Law enforcement officers conducted a statewide search for the man they believed pulled the trigger; a 10-year-old boy escaped the killer to call 911.
• May 19, 2001 — Police found Roger Leroy Johnson, 48, lying face-down at the Cherokee Memorial Park & Funeral Home; police said he cut the main artery in at least one arm, raised an arm and threw a grenade at officers, and then collapsed again.
• May 20, 2001 — The incident was described in reporting as a murder suspect killing himself on his wife’s grave.

The offence

Authorities accused Johnson of killing:

• Pearl Burks, 48
• Ashley Burks, 6
• Bobby Burks, 4
• Mikhala Burks, 5

The killings occurred at a home just southeast of Stockton. The 10-year-old boy escaped the killer and called 911 after fleeing from a house on East Carpenter Road, a residential street adjacent to farmland. Law enforcement officers arrived and found an elderly woman, a 7-year-old girl, a 5-year-old girl, and a 4-year-old boy all dead of gunshot wounds.

Investigators said:

• The two girls were sisters.
• The boy was a cousin.
• The woman was the grandmother of all the children.
• The boy who escaped was the brother of the two girls.

The children’s mother had left the children at home with their grandmother while she went to the San Joaquin County Courthouse in downtown Stockton to get a restraining order. She was notified of the shootings, taken to a safe place, and reunited with her surviving son.

Relationship and motive

Authorities said Johnson dated the children’s mother and that he was upset over a breakup with Rhonda Burks, Pearl Burks’ daughter. Police said Johnson was not the father of any of the children. Investigators were still determining the extent of the relationship between Johnson and the children’s mother, and the sheriff’s deputy said he did not know if the couple had a history of domestic violence.

Weapons and immediate actions

Police said Johnson was armed with a handgun and knife when he attacked the family.

On May 19, 2001, police found Johnson lying face-down at the Cherokee Memorial Park & Funeral Home. Police said he cut the main artery in at least one arm. After being found, he raised an arm and threw a grenade at officers and then collapsed again.

Investigation and search

Dispatchers received a call from a boy about 4:15 p.m. He said he had just fled a house on East Carpenter Road and that there were people dead. Deputies arrived to find four people dead of gunshot wounds.

The killings triggered a statewide search, and Johnson was believed to be driving a maroon Chevrolet pickup with California license plate number 6H56849. A neighbor of the crime scene said she had seen the pickup at the home at least once before.

Johnson was described as:

• 5-foot-6
• 180 pounds
• blue eyes
• slicked-back brown hair
• missing four fingers and having only a thumb on his right hand

People

• Roger Leroy Johnson — suspect accused of killing Pearl Burks and her three grandchildren; 48 years old.
• Pearl Burks (48) — victim; grandmother.
• Ashley Burks (6) — victim.
• Bobby Burks (4) — victim.
• Mikhala Burks (5) — victim.
• Rhonda Burks — Pearl Burks’ daughter; described as the person with whom Johnson had a breakup that upset him.
• Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Herrera — described the scene and the boy’s condition; also said Johnson was not the father of any of the children.
• Deputies — arrived at the scene after the 911 call.
• Deputy Chris Jimenez — attempted to comfort an unidentified woman who had children at the scene of a quadruple murder.
• Nancy Abdullah — a neighbor who lived on East Carpenter Road for 20 years.

Quotations

Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Herrera said:

• "He said there were people dead and the killer chased him out of the house, "
• "He is very distraught."

Nancy Abdullah said:

• "This is terrible. No one does anything on this street,"
• "This is the kind of street where people can leave their doors unlocked."

Other details

The road where the fleeing boy called from was described as a half-mile southeast of Stockton city limits and close to Highway 99. Investigators searched a one-story stucco home described as a bloody crime scene. Names and the woman’s age were not released last night in the account of the shootings.

Roger Leroy Johnson was identified as being of Stockton. Police found him at the Cherokee Memorial Park & Funeral Home.

A photograph caption described a San Joaquin Sheriff’s deputy standing guard behind crime scene tape in front of a rural Stockton home where four people were murdered. Another caption described a San Joaquin Sheriff’s deputy Chris Jimenez attempting to comfort an unidentified woman who had children at the scene of the quadruple murder.