HOUSTON – A Harris County grand jury on Friday declined to indict a sheriff’s deputy in connection with the 2020 fatal shooting of Joshua Johnson.
District Attorney Kim Ogg said all evidence was presented to a grand jury from both parties and gave them the opportunity to come forward and testify. Ogg said the jury handed down a “no-bill,” declining to charge anyone with a crime.
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“Every bit of evidence was presented to grand jurors for their consideration,” she said. “We left no stone unturned. A grand jury is the civilian review board of the justice system and they have the power of subpoena to review everything.”
Johnson, a Navy veteran, was shot down the street from his parent’s home on East Ritter Circle on April 22.
According to investigators, Johnson was shot and killed by a Harris County Sheriff’s deputy on the Gulf Coast Task Force who was on a stakeout for a suspect in a capital murder from October. Investigators said Johnson was watching the home of a hospitalized neighbor, who lived down the street from his parent’s home when Johnson approached the deputy’s unmarked vehicle.
Investigators said Johnson knocked on the window and showed the undercover deputy a flashlight and a BB gun. Investigators said words were exchanged and then the deputy, later identified as Tu Tran, a 12-year veteran of the HCSO, shot Johnson killing him.
The deputy was not wearing a body camera.
Ogg said that the Civil Rights Division probe was thorough.