Search Of Ark. Gunman's House Yields Clues

Guns And Name Of Victim Found At Home Of Recently Fired Man Who Killed State's Dem Leader

(AP)  The man who fatally shot the chairman of the state Democratic Party after he lost his job had a Post-it note at home with the victim's last name and phone number along with 14 guns, antidepressants and a last will and testament, according to court documents.

Police said Thursday they know of no relationship between gunman Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, and Bill Gwatney, 48, a car dealer and former state senator who served as the state's Democratic Party chairman.

Johnson shot Gwatney to death Wednesday and was killed by officers after a 30-minute chase.

The search of Johnson's home near Searcy, northeast of Little Rock, turned up two sets of keys for vehicles from Gwatney car lots. Johnson also had a pistol and 13 long guns.

Police Lt. Terry Hastings said officers didn't know what to make of the note and police didn't disclose the phone number or say whether it was to the party headquarters or a car dealership.

"Right now we don't have any indication of motive as far as it deals with Mr. Gwatney," Hastings said. Little Rock police were going through a computer that was seized from Johnson's home, Hastings said.

Wreathes and flowers lined the sidewalk in front of Arkansas' Democratic Party headquarters Thursday. The day before, Johnson - after losing his job at a Target store in Conway - drove more than 30 miles and fatally shot Gwatney.

Johnson had been a good employee in a Target stockroom until Wednesday morning, a Target spokeswoman said.

Target fired Johnson before 8 a.m. Wednesday because he had written on a wall and a manager had called police because of an "extremely irate" employee, said Conway police spokeswoman Sharen Carter. The graffiti, including "Target is run by dumb jocks and sorority b------," had already been cleaned and Johnson had left by the time officers arrived.

"This was different behavior for him," spokeswoman Brie Heath said Thursday. "The manager asked him if he needed to talk. At that point he turned in his badge and left the building."

After leaving the store, Johnson drove to Little Rock and barged into Gwatney's office and shot him multiple times.

"He said he was interested in volunteering, but that was obviously a lie," said Sam Higginbotham, a 17-year-old volunteer at the party's headquarters.

After the shooting, Johnson sped away in a truck, stopped seven blocks away at the Arkansas State Baptist Convention and pointed a gun at the building's manager, police said. When asked what was wrong, the gunman said "I lost my job," according to Dan Jordan, the church group's business manager.

Officers chased the suspect to Sheridan, 30 miles south of Little Rock. After avoiding spike strips and a roadblock, the suspect emerged from his truck and began shooting at deputies and state troopers, who returned fire. Johnson later died at a hospital. Police found two guns in the truck.

Conway police called Johnson's departure a termination but Heath said the man left of his own accord. "When he left yesterday, he voluntarily left. We asked him `What's going on? Do you want to talk about something? It was `Let's talk.' It was not about termination," Heath said.

Johnson lived along a one-lane gravel road in a one-story ranch-style house of brown brick. Multicolored Christmas lights still hung around Johnson's carport door. In the garden, a six-foot sunflower was wilted, pointing toward the ground.

Because of Gwatney's position in the state party, he was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention this month in Denver. He declared his support for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton after the Arkansas primary in February but endorsed Barack Obama after Clinton dropped out of the presidential race.

Democratic and Republican party officials said their offices would remain closed until Monday.

Johnson lived alone and had never been married, said Helen Mowrer, who lives next door. Johnson's parents had lived at the house, but they died in the past 10 years, she said.

"I never felt really comfortable with him," Mowrer said. "He was just kind of different."

Another neighbor, Loretta Jones, said investigators visited her home Wednesday but said her only contact with Johnson had been the three or four times she complained to him about his dog.

"It makes you wonder what got into somebody to do something so horrible," Jones said.

The state Capitol was locked down for about an hour until police got word the shooter had been captured, Arkansas State Capitol police Sgt. Charlie Brice said.

[mydiatribe]

Before anyone start labeling this a hate crime against the Democrats by some gun-toting conservative let us look at it more closely.

The gunman Timothy Dale Johnson was fired by Target from his stock room job before 8:00 am on Wednesday. That day he shot Chairman Bill Gwatney. Johnson was fired for writing graffiti, including "Target is run by dumb jocks and sorority b------,"

The graffiti on the wall SHOUTS as to what Johnson''s state of mind was at the time of the crime. His heart was filled with ENVY & RESENTMENT. The Devil had him in his grip.

For those of you who would mock WE who trust in THE WORD this is a clear case of sin leading to mental illness with serious consequence, in this case it was the senseless deaths of two people.

Truth: ENVY & RESENTMENT KILLS!

Still believe you can nurture those thoughts for a time without serious consequence? THINK AGAIN!

"None so blind as those who will not see."

[blackyowe]

Dowjones20k, anyone who types things that are gloating or glib about the death of someone is sick as far as I am concerned. It shocks me allot when I read here how little compassion there is for our fellow human beings. I would not gloat even it it was Rush who got shot like Mr. Gwatney did. It frightens me to see our society cracking up like this. In a way there seems to be a civil war going on of sorts between the classes and the conservatives and liberals. I am deeply concerned about our nation.

[dowjones20k]

He may have been a democrat but he was not your typical democrate. he actually cared about what happened to people.

So SHUT YOUR MOUTHS unless you know the whole story!!

Posted by kkbbs30

Is this a typical democratic response???

I am not sure what got your dander up .. but while you may not agree with some of the posters here on this board .. maybe a thought would be to stop reading the comments and grieve for your hero ....

I dont believe the internet .. especially the CBS message board is the place to try and grieve ... one might encounter some harsh responses that might hurt ones feelings ..

It is very easy to be brash when one sits behind a computer screen and types in what they may feel is humor ...

and others take offense ...

it is indeed a free worldwide web ... and good luck with trying to get people to Shut their mouths ... and one should never expect to do so ...

[blackyowe]

Hi patriot12436, I took that poor woodchuck off the center line with a shovel and almost screamed when I saw him blinking at me even though he was flattened. I went back to the house and got the gun, he was still breathing when I got back with the 22. I always take the road kill off the road in front of my house before they get too yucky. If you call the county they send someone out to pick up the dead deer. I can''t imagine being without a gun in a rural area. Mostly I have used mine to put down animals that are suffering with no hope of recovery here on the farm. It''s not a task I like but a Vet charges $60.00 just to walk on the property now and I can''t see waking one up in the middle of the night to drive 20 miles to shoot a sick sheep anyway. I asked my vet once which was more humane him doing it or a bullet and he said its the same either way. Why do city and suburban people always try to force their problems on us out here? Guns are not a problem in rural areas. It''s the city and suburban areas who have all the violence for the most part so maybe they need to address the social reasons for the violence in their area instead of trying to take the guns from people who are responsible. Every single family I know has guns here. Yeah we still beleive it God too, ain''t that a shocker?

[feddupp]

Another "calm, quiet" CLOSET MURDERER!!

[patriot12436]

black yowe
I am the same I hit a raccoon one night by accident, he was mangled very bad and suffering, i got my revolver out of the car and ended his pain. I hate to hurt animals or people. I will defend myself and my home and family against criminals but i take no joy in having to use a gun on anyone.

[blackyowe]

My Mother used to take her guns to school back in the early 50s. They all went to the soda shop after school with their 22s and leaned the guns in the corner and had a chocolate malt. That was in White Plains right outside NYC. The school had a shooting range. Were they all crazy gun nuts. Heck no, they were liberals! Guns are not evil. Our society is gone amuck and blaming guns won''t help. They banned guns in Scotland and they all stab each other. Knife violence is very common in the UK. I am a liberal and I have guns. The difference is I am country women with fire arms. I had to shoot a woodchuck the day before yesterday because a car hit him and he was suffering and still alive but was mangled. You fellow liberals that hate guns are just urban out of touch fools as far as I am concerned and so is Obama. I wanted Hillary because she is far more in touch with reality. Obama is a yuppie and is afriad of traditional blue collar democrats.

[ubrew12]

At the end of the day I, as a committed lib, believe guns should be largely legal. Although I DO believe that they should come, especially in urban areas where face-pressures are premium, with serious strings attached (i.e. prove marksmanship, gun cleaning ability, gun safety, etc). We need to get guns out of the hands of under-age urban gang members but keep them in the hands of older, responsible, family members. We need to come together to make this possible.

This guy is another phemomenon altogether. There has been SO much division between right and left in this country, that too many people with access to guns are thinking of them in terms of ''political'' revenge.

Right or left, we need to tone down the divisive language. We''re all Americans, with a common desire to make this country great.

[barbaraf4]

Timothy Dale Johnson committed suicide. Plain and simple. The victims here are Bill Gwatney, and the policemen who were forced to kill Mr. Johnson.

[patriot12436]

usclimey
Did you read your comment ? Do you realize how absurd it was ? Let him run out of bullets so we could find out his story ? What if his bullets had killed another innocent person ? Do try to use some reason when making a statement.

[mrmazerati]

Posted by kkbbs30 at 08:43 PM

I agree. It''s ironic that he killed one of the people who was most concerned about people like him, the working poor. No good deed goes unpunished.

[patriot12436]

sunspro
I had to think about it but i guess i would fall into the category of conservative redneck. I believe we should have a govt that worries about the problems effecting the U.S. I was raised believing red neck meant having moral standards and pride in country. I am a supporter of the 2nd amendment and will not surrender my guns to anyone. I am also a war veteran and wish to hurt noone or see another war. I have no problem with someone having an opinion different than mine. Boy life sure gets confusing.

[kkbbs30]

if any of you idiots had any kind of clue and knew the man that was killed you would shut your mouths. He may have been a democrat but he was not your typical democrate. he actually cared about what happened to people. And unless you are from Arkansas, like I am, you would unsderstand how upset his whole entire state is over this ruthless attack whether they are republican or democrat. right noe it doesn''t matter b/c we are all Arnasans mourning the loss of a great man and state leader!
So SHUT YOUR MOUTHS unless you know the whole story!!

[patriot12436]

idnnsg
I see you are back dribblig your perverted comments about gun owners.

[mrmazerati]

The guy was whacky. End of story.

[Syndicate]

Amazing what psychoactive drugs will make you do. My sympathies to the dead and the living.

[idnnsg]

I see the gun NUTZ are out in force tonight!

This guy was one of them-- a "responsible, law-abiding gun owner"... until he went over the edge! Fortunately, private gun owners in this country kill themselves far more often than they kill other people.

Gun owners (as a group) are the most paranoid lunatics you''ll ever encounter! They are constantly worried that someone is going to come along and take away their little firesticks and then they will be even more afraid! This, despite the fact that SUICIDE is the number one cause of death by gunshot in this country! They can''t defend themselves, they live in constant fear, and eventually it drives them IN.SANE! Pop! There goes another one!

Too bad that they can''t ALL just kill themselves, rather than killing somebody else before they SBC.

[rudy654-2009]

the rantings of people like michael savage, ann coulter, and rush limbaugh ... with their incessant diatribes on liberals creates an attitude about them (libs), that, in the minds of the wrong person ... could potentially lead to something like this (if this was politically motivated at all).

***********
Not politically motivated??? Are you kidding? The man went out of his way in Searcy, Arkansas and traveled more than an hour away to Little Rock and targets the head of the democratic party there, and you don''t think it was politically motivated?

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by BlackYowe at 07:01 PM

I think people like you like to make a storm in a tea cup. I heard Obama''s statement and I never once thought he was putting anyone down. But as it is, you people are intent on taking everything he says and making it into something it was never meant. So, he is dammmed if he does and dammmed if doesn''t, no matter WHAT it is. And why do you suppose that Bush can pull even worse statements and you people bow to the gas he passes?

[blackyowe]

I am a women, white and liberal to moderate and own 7 guns. I have been married for 28 years and have never smoked pot or taken drugs. You see people do not fall into these perfect catagories do they?. That is why I got so miffed at Obama with those stupid comments about small town and country people clinging to their guns and religion. I''ll bet every house on my road has one or more guns and their is never violence here. I think having the guns actually is one of the reasons. People don''t break into other peoples homes they might just get shot or worse!