Sheldon Johnson, an ex-convict who called himself a criminal justice reform activist and worked with prominent figures such as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and podcaster Joe Rogan, was ordered held without bail by a judge. He pleaded not guilty to murder in a Bronx courtroom Tuesday before being sentenced. .
After being paroled last year, the 48-year-old became an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform and began working with Forest Hills criminal defense firm Queen’s Defenders.
He is now accused of fatally shooting his 44-year-old rival, Colin Small, in his Bronx apartment, then cutting up his body and hiding it in multiple locations, including a storage unit and a freezer.
Responding officers initially found only Small’s headless torso. His cadaver’s leg was later discovered inside a plastic trash can at the scene. Police allegedly found Small’s head, legs and arm stuffed in a freezer in Johnson’s Harlem apartment.
New York City ex-convict murder suspect smiles with Da Bragg just before shocking arrest
Sheldon Johnson appears in a Bronx Supreme Court courtroom on April 2, 2024 in New York City. Johnson, an advocate for criminal justice reform, was charged last month with the murder and dismemberment of Colin Small. (Kevin C. Downs, FOX News Digital)
Surveillance camera footage from Small’s apartment showed a man, identified as Johnson, coming and going several times after the murder.
It is said that he changed his clothes and at one point wore a blonde wig as a disguise.
Johnson appeared in a New York courtroom on Tuesday wearing a tan sweatsuit, his shirt inside out and his hands handcuffed behind his back. He spoke only to assert his innocence.
Ex-convict Sheldon Johnson (left), who claims he turned his life around before New York City police arrested him on second-degree murder charges, poses for a photo with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Sheldon Johnson/Instagram)
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Neighbors said they heard a man’s voice begging for mercy just before two gunshots shook the apartment. Johnson has been seen coming and going in various disguises since the murder, the newspaper said. new york post.
Surveillance footage provided to FOX News shows Colin Small in the hallway of his Bronx apartment on March 5, 2024. After Small’s dismembered body was discovered, police arrested an ex-convict named Sheldon Johnson. (Courtesy of FOX News)
According to the newspaper, the man said, “Please stop.” “I have a family.”
This undated photo shows Colin Small, who was shot to death in his Bronx apartment on March 5, 2024. (Courtesy of FOX News)
Just a few weeks ago, Johnson appeared on Rogan’s podcast.
The murder suspect was released from prison last year after his supporters lobbied for his release.
Surveillance footage provided to Fox News allegedly shows Sheldon Johnson wearing a blonde wig exiting an elevator at his Bronx apartment on March 5, 2024. Johnson is suspected of fatally shooting rival Colin Small in an apartment in the building. (Courtesy of FOX News)
Mr Johnson shared a photo on his Instagram of himself smiling and shaking hands with Mr Bragg.
Surveillance footage provided to Fox News appears to show Sheldon Johnson holding a blue garbage can in the hallway of a Bronx apartment building on March 5, 2024. Johnson is suspected of shooting and killing his rival, Colin Small, in an apartment in the building. (Courtesy of FOX News)
New York Department of Corrections records show that Mr. Johnson and Mr. Small have both served time in prison, but it was not immediately clear how they knew each other.
In another photo, Johnson appears to be posing alongside the CFO of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team, and in another, he is seen gesturing in front of a sign that reads “Prisons Grow the Prison Population.” It shows. Risk of reoffending…at the expense of actual public health and safety. ”
Sheldon Johnson appears in a Bronx Supreme Court courtroom on April 2, 2024 in New York City. Johnson, an advocate for criminal justice reform, was charged last month with the murder and dismemberment of Colin Small. (Kevin C. Downs, FOX News Digital)
Johnson told “The Joe Rogan Experience” in February that he will be released in May 2023 after serving 25 years and five months for a series of armed robberies.
Although he claimed to have risen to the top of the inmate hierarchy, he said he reformed himself in prison.
He claimed he had an epiphany while on his first plane ride after his release.
“As I was up in the clouds and looking down, I had this analogy in my head: ‘I just came out of the depths of hell and spent 25 years in prison, and now I’m like, I am in the sky above the clouds of heaven.”
Sheldon Johnson posted this selfie on Facebook from his Queen’s Defenders office in December. (Sheldon Johnson/Facebook)
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He is currently being held without bail new york city jail on a charge of second-degree murder.
A Queen’s Defenders spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the organization had no comment on Friday’s arrest of Johnson.
Bragg’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
