Second day of Troy Johnson trial reveals new details about the night of the shooting and its aftermath

PURVIS, Miss. (WDAM) – The second day of the trial for Troy Johnson, a Lamar County man accused of multiple burglaries and attempted capital murders against law enforcement, took place Thursday in Purvis.

The trial in 15th District Circuit Court revealed new details about the night Deputy Steve Pazos was shot and the aftermath.

The prosecution called 11 witnesses to the stand throughout the day, from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department, the Mississippi Forensic Laboratory and the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

Deputy John ‘TJ’ Vaughn was the first person to take the stand for the prosecution on Thursday.

Vaughn was present when Deputy Steve Pazos was shot and killed on the night of December 12, 2022.

As mentioned the day before, several deputies from the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to a small area of ​​Oak Grove after several burglaries were reported.

Vaughn was one of those deputies.

In his testimony, Vaughn said he was cleaning a house with former deputy Brayden Hodge, who had testified the day before.

After dispatch, Vaughn received the suspect’s description and began his pursuit.

In a marked Ford Taurus, Vaughn began driving westbound on Old Highway 24, where he noticed the suspect walking in the parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Vaughn then activated his blue lights and the suspect began running, jumping over the fence of an apartment complex.

The suspect began running down the road, where other patrol units began arriving to assist in the pursuit.

Pazos began running alongside Vaughn’s vehicle, where he then pulled out his Taser and gave commands to the suspect.

The suspect then reached into his waistband, turned around and fired several shots at the officers.

Vaughn attempted to park his vehicle in front of Pazos. The hood was hit, with the bullet entering just above the passenger side headlight.

Pazos then shouted, “I’m hit!”

According to witnesses, Pazos was shot in the stomach.

Vaughn began administering life-saving medical assistance as Deputy Seth Blackmon arrived to provide cover.

Photos of Vaughn’s Ford Taurus and the damage caused by the shooting were entered into evidence and presented to the jury.

“How would you describe this night?” » Prosecutor Kim Harlin asked Vaughn.

“Chaotic,” Vaughn said simply.

Dashcam footage was also shown to the jury and entered into evidence. He revealed the moments leading up to the shooting, with Vaughn driving on Old Highway 24 in pursuit of the suspect, and when the shots were fired.

Blackmon was the next person the state called to testify.

In his testimony, Blackmon said he covered Pazos and Vaughn while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. When other patrol units arrived, Hodge and Blackmon pushed further into the woods to find the suspect.

As they moved through the area, they found a glove, a flashlight and a medical mask on the ground.

Dashcam and bodycam footage was entered into evidence, which was then released for the jury.

Blackmon’s body camera footage leads to the very moment Pazos was shot and the chase that followed.

The next person called to the stand by the prosecution was Master Sergeant Steven Graves of the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

According to his testimony, Graves walked around the scene when he arrived and created a scale drawing of the scene.

The scale drawing acts like a map, presenting a diagram of where objects were placed or found. For example, the diagram shows where three gloves, the flashlight and the mask were found.

The state then called Jeremy Miller, a crime scene analyst with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, to the stand.

Miller testified that he arrived on scene around 2 a.m., where his supervisor informed him of the situation. When he arrived, he walked around the scene and photographed the evidence.

Evidence collected at the scene was presented to the jury.

Shell casings, gloves, a flashlight and clothing were shown to the jury and entered into evidence.

On December 20, 2022, a few days after the incident, a search warrant was executed at the location where Johnson was apprehended: his mother’s residence.

At the home, law enforcement noticed that the suspect had thrown his clothes in the trash. These clothes were recovered as evidence.

Meanwhile, several firearms were also recovered from the home, including a Taurus .357 Magnum, a Taurus 9mm pistol, and a SIG Sauer 9mm pistol. All the guns were stolen.

The guns were found in a gray storage bin in the bedroom, according to testimony from investigator Scott Wagner, who took the stand the day before.

During Wagner’s testimony, he was asked to verify whether the clothes found at the scene resembled those that belonged to Johnson.

Wagner agreed and also identified the suspect as Troy Johnson, who was sitting in the courtroom.

A phone call from the Lamar County Jail between an unidentified woman and Troy Johnson was also played for the jury.

The phone call occurred after the search warrant was executed at Johnson’s home. In the phone call, the woman claimed law enforcement ransacked the home and stole money.

When asked about this by the prosecutor, Wagner replied: “I never saw a dollar in that house.” »

MBI Special Agent Peter Knight was then called to the stand by the prosecution.

Knight was the officer who went to the hospital to obtain a gunshot residue test from Johnson around 1:30 a.m. on December 17, 2022. The GSR kit was later entered into evidence.

Several people from the Mississippi forensic laboratory were called to the witness stand by the state and declared experts by the court. Each person verified that DNA swabs and a gunshot residue test were taken from Johnson.

MFL’s Nathan Holly said the DNA found on the evidence submitted could not exclude Johnson as a potential donor, meaning his DNA was found on the evidence.

As a final witness, the prosecution called MBI Special Agent Zachary Summers.

Summers testified that he was there with Graves and Miller the night of the crime.

According to Summers, there was a brief struggle during Johnson’s arrest. There is no body camera footage of the arrest.

After Johnson was apprehended, he was transported to Forrest General Hospital where he was examined by medical professionals and released shortly after.

He was then taken into custody and questioned by Summers and Knight.

The interview was recorded and presented to the jury after being entered into evidence.

In the footage, Johnson admits to burglarizing homes, but told Knight and Summers that someone named “Little B” told him to do it so they could buy him a gun.

Johnson said he knew law enforcement was chasing him, but he “wasn’t ready to stop.”

He then admitted that he did not mean to shoot anyone and that he had only fired into the air to frighten the officers and create distance between them.

Johnson also said he only fired once. He later mentioned shooting twice.

He also reported that after firing the gun, he threw it into the woods. Johnson also said he threw his clothes in the woods, but they were the same clothes investigators found in the trash.

Johnson also said he did not enter anyone’s vehicle that night.

According to Summers, he did not find anyone named “Little B” or anyone else associated with the crime.

Summers verified that the firearms entered into evidence were those found at the Johnson residence and also verified that five shots had been fired that night.

Summers also positively identified Johnson as the suspect that night and that he had probable cause to arrest him.

Court adjourned Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

The court will reconvene at 9 a.m. on Friday, October 18.

Follow WDAM 7 for updates as the trial continues.

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