Lawyer: Suspect in fatal shooting feared for life
Dead man’s brother disputes claim, calls woman ‘controlling’
Debra Davis sat quietly in court Friday with friends and family as conflicting accounts swirled around the disabled former postal worker accused of killing a Houston man outside his home earlier this week.
Davis, 58, turned herself in to authorities Wednesday on a murder charge in the death of 49-year-old Rodney Johnson, who was shot Tuesday after what police said was an altercation between the two.
Whether Johnson was her boyfriend — or just a friend she was trying to help — is a matter of dispute.
Police first identified Davis as Johnson’s wife and said she believed he’d been unfaithful.
But Davis is in the midst of a divorce from someone else, and a lawyer for Davis said the pair were just friends because their children are married.
Johnson’s brother, Chris Johnson, 47, told the Chronicle on Friday that the pair had an on-again, off-again relationship that developed while Johnson was serving a 30-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery.
Wielding baseball bat
The court appearance Friday was routine, but prosecutors said at an earlier court appearance on Thursday that Davis used pepper spray on Johnson outside his home and then drove away, only to return a few minutes later to fatally shoot him.
Johnson was wielding a baseball bat but didn’t use it, they said.
After the shooting, Davis left the scene and Johnson was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he died, police said.
Davis’ defense attorneys, Emily Detoto and Paul Morgan, say the woman was acting in self-defense. They said she met Johnson because her daughter is married to his son, and she was trying to help him readjust to life outside of prison.
“He was on parole after having been incarcerated for over two decades, and she helped keep him straight on parole, stay clean off drugs and alcohol and helped him try to find a job,” Detoto said. “She is disabled, so he helped her around the house.”
But Johnson became increasingly abusive and Davis kicked him out of her home, Detoto said. On Tuesday, she was taking his belongings to him when he came at her with a baseball bat, the lawyer said.
“She was in fear for her life, and he came at her with a bat,” Detoto said. “She peppersprayed him as he was punching her in the face.”
Detoto said Johnson had repeatedly threatened to kill Davis and her family.
“She was terrified,” Detoto said. “He would often say, ‘I have nothing to lose.’ ” Davis is free on $50,000 bail. Court records indicate she filed for divorce in September 2016 from her husband of more than 30 years. The divorce is not yet finalized. Rogers Davis Jr. and Debra Davis married in March 1985 but stopped living together in July 2016, court records show.
Chris Johnson, the brother, said Rodney Johnson moved in with his son and Davis’ daughter when he got out of prison on parole in February 2015. Several months later, Johnson moved in with Davis and her husband in the couple’s home in Richmond.
Ready to call it quits
At some point, Johnson and Davis moved to Missouri City, Chris Johnson said. It was unclear if Davis’ husband moved with the couple.
Chris Johnson disputed claims that his brother was using drugs after his release from prison. He was on probation and would have known better than to violate the conditions of his parole, Johnson said.
Rodney Johnson, who had been working mostly odd jobs since his release, became increasingly dissatisfied with his romantic relationship with Davis, Chris Johnson said. Chris Johnson added that Davis was controlling and threw his brother out of the house when she was angry.
Johnson had been ready to call it quits in the month leading up to the shooting; he found another girlfriend and was staying with family members, Chris Johnson said.
“He tried to get out of the relationship,” Johnson said. “Every time he leaves her, she comes and finds him.”
Rodney Johnson frequently stayed at his uncle’s house on Cathedral, which is where he was the day he was killed.
Rodney Johnson was sentenced to 30 years in prison for an aggravated robbery conviction in 1992 out of Harris County. He received parole after serving 23 years.