A Poplar Bluff woman was charged Tuesday in connection to the May 2018 death of Jermaine Johnson, who was found at the end of a county road in eastern Butler County.
According to Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs, Shanesha Rene Burns was taken into custody around 1 a.m. Tuesday at the Butler County jail. Dobbs said the 32-year-old admitted to being present when Johnson was killed as the result of an illegal drug operation sale.
“Throughout the course of the investigation of the homicide of Jermaine Johnson, it became apparent he was killed due to a drug transaction run afoul,” Dobbs said.
Autopsy results revealed that Johnson, 32, died as the result of a gunshot wound to the torso. His body was found March 20 by a citizen who was seining a ditch for crawfish on County Road 612.
“Shanesha Burns is known to have made threats to killing or having Jermaine Johnson killed on May 19, about 10 hours prior to his actual death,” Dobbs said.
Burns was charged with the Class A felony of first-degree murder and armed criminal action or in the alternative second-degree murder, also known as felony murder. Her bond was set at $500,000 cash or surety.
At this time, Dobbs said, after nine months of investigation on the Johnson homicide, a murder weapon, the vehicle used and confession from Burns’ involvement have been secured.
The alleged murder weapon used to kill Johnson was seized from another shooting and was sent to the lab where a ballistic match was made.
During the course of the investigation, Dobbs also added, James Michael Cohen, 32, of St. Louis and his passenger, Erica Renee Justice, 34, of Poplar Bluff, were taken into custody following a traffic stop around 4 p.m. Monday.
The traffic stop yielded 109 grams of methamphetamine, 11 grams of heroin, a number of Ecstasy tablets and a 9mm handgun, Dobbs said.
In addition to the illegal narcotics, Dobbs said, Cohen is a convicted felon and prohibited from having a firearm.
Cohen, Dobbs added, also is known to have close ties to Burns in regards to drug trafficking.
“It’s fair to say Cohen and Burns are definitely major suppliers of drugs in Poplar Bluff and the Butler County area,” he said.
As of now, Dobbs said, Cohen and Justice have not been charged in connection to the homicide.
Cohen was charged Tuesday with the Class A felony of first-degree drug trafficking, two Class C felonies of delivery of a controlled substance and the Class A misdemeanor of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Cohen, whose bond is set at $200,000 cash or surety, remains in the Butler County jail.
Justice was released Tuesday.
“We thoroughly anticipate murder charges on at least one more individual,” Dobbs said.
Both Cohen and Burns are major narcotic dealers, Dobbs said, and this was a great victory for law enforcement.
“This is a testament to the professionalism and good working relationship of the Poplar Bluff and Butler County Major Case Squad,” Dobbs said. “This was a team effort, which took hundreds of man hours, but in the end it was very much worth it due to the fact we cut the head off the snake, so to speak, of a very large drug operation in the area.”