Arkansas Suspect Quit Job on Day of Killing

Source: NY Times

A few hours before he barged into the state party headquarters and shot Mr. Gwatney multiple times, Mr. Johnson had an angry outburst at his workplace, a Target store in Conway, Ark., where he had worked since November 2006, the police said. Managers at the store discovered obscenity-laden messages aimed at the company scrawled on the walls. “Target is run by dumb jocks,” one read.

After store managers held a meeting about the graffiti, Mr. Johnson took responsibility by signing his name to them, said Brie Heath, a spokeswoman for Target.

“Our team members recognized that was not typical behavior from Mr. Johnson,” Ms. Heath said. “We’ve never had any issues with him in the past.”Several people said they had not heard him make any overtly political comments or criticize Democrats. According to The Arkansas Times, Mr. Johnson was a former member of the Cleburne County Shooting Club, where he participated in high-powered rifle competitions.

Mr. Johnson did not indicate his party preference on his voter registration, but voted in the Republican presidential primary this year, according to records at the White County registrar’s office. He voted in Republican primaries in 2002 and 2004, and in a Democratic primary and a runoff in 2006.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/us/15arkansas.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I've noticed most who didn't like it first read it later in life.

Bet they are to all the RW nutbag stations. Too bad there's no record of his TV viewing -- bet he's an O'Loofah fan.

This is a valid question. What/who/did he listened to.

still quite acyive in it's birthplace of ark.

Huh?

:eyes:

GUNS!!!

I'm sure the killer was some twisted, tormented, deranged soul. Perhaps he had a political agenda, perhaps not. Not all mad killers are right-wingers. Ted Kaczynski comes to mind, for one. I think we make ourselves look like idiots with all this baseless speculation. It's exactly the kind of behavior we deride thr right wing for engaging in.

This kind of talk just lessens us all. Two men died. Now a cop has to deal with the knowledge of how it feels to kill another human being. Show some respect.

Source: Daily Citizen

Tim Johnson, 50, of Searcy has been identified as the shooter in the unexplained murder of Bill Gwatney, chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, in Little Rock. Police chased Johnson from near the scene shortly after the murder and shot and killed Johnson in Grant County, about 30 miles away.

At 7:51 a.m. police were called to the Target store on Elsinger Boulevard in Conway on a report of criminal mischief involving Johnson, according to a report by the Conway Police Department. Target manager Bobby Thomas told police that Johnson wrote profanity-laced graffiti on the wall of the store and that Johnson "seemed to be extremely irate." Another Target employee told police Johnson was no longer employed there and was not allowed access to the property...

Evidence connected to the shooting was found late Wednesday as officers with the Little Rock Police Department, the Arkansas State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Johnson's home at 128 Janet Lane, south of Searcy. A property receipt from the Little Rock Police Department, filed in White County District Court, Searcy Division said police had confiscated a personal computer, a bottle of Effexor XR medication in the name of Tim Johnson, a sticky note with “Gwatney” and a phone number, various paperwork, two sets of keys with the Gwatney dealership emblem on them, the last will and testament of Timothy Johnson, a Smith and Wesson gun box and 14 guns. Two guns were found in Johnson's pick-up after he died.

Read more: http://www.thedailycitizen.com/articles/2008/08/15/news/top_stories/top01.txt

Didn't they say this was a "random" shooting? An angry, crazed loner?

Just for our information, does anyone know the basic political temperature of the city government of Little Rock?

There's a possible connection for you. He was pissed off at Gwatney for something.

Here's a quick primer on Little Rock and Arkansas.

Little Rock has a city manager form of government. Board of directors are elected in non-partisan elections, both by ward and at-large. Mayor, once elected to ceremonial post from within BoD, now elected city-wide and has only slightly increased powers, but still more of a figurehead than an actual executive. Mayor Mark Stodola, an attorney, former Pulaski County prosecutor, is a Democrat. Bruce Moore, the city manager, is Black. He contributes to Democratic candidates.

Most of the city is Democratic in its leanings, except for west Little Rock, which is the center of the McMansion nouveau riche. Hillcrest/The Heights, despite being wealthier areas, are very liberal.

But then Arkansas is pretty much a one-party state. The House and Senate and far and away Democratic majorities. The state GOP is hopelessly unorganized. The GOP does have a stronger presence in NW Arkansas, but that's about it. We're very populist in our collective leanings. Even though we elected Mike Huckabee governor for 12 years, he didn't have any coattails insofar as building a vibrant Republican Party in the state. Arkansas has only elected three Republican governors since Reconstruction (Huckabee, Frank White, and Winthrop Rockefeller). Rockefeller's son, Win Paul, was a very popular lieutenant governor, was trying to build a Republican Party in Arkansas, and likely would have been elected governor in 2006, but he died of cancer.

Because we are virtually a one-party state, we generally don't play the typical D v. R political games here. There's no fun in that. Rather, the political divisions are more urban v. rural, Pulaski County v. the rest of the state, the Razorbacks v. whomever. We have a lot of Democratic legislators that a lot of DUers likely wouldn't recognise as Democrats. But, despite their being more conservative, they are still loyal to the Party.

Bill Gwatney wasn't one of those DINOs. He was an ardent Democrat, by Arkansas standards more liberal than some, but not liberal by DU standards. Was very pro-business, but also pro-helping the little guy. He also was a frequent thorn in Huckabee's side. He, along with then-senator, now governor, Beebe, and then-senator, now chief-of-staff, Morril Harriman (a former poultry lobbyist), used to be known in the Senate as "the good guys."

What else do you want to know?

the whole story on this murder got out.... or on how accurately it got out. Thanks for the primer. It sounds as if we will eventually know why the shooter had Gwatney's name on a post-it in his home.

"This hall is too *** **** narrow."
"Target is run by dumb jocks and sorority *******."
"sorority *******."
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=70790&catid=2

Sounds like he has had issues for a long, long time.

The 2006 election for him didn't really have any contested Repub elections. He was voting in a PRIMARY RUNOFF, which means he was probably pretty politically aware. He could have therefore easily chosen to pull a Dem ballot for that election hoping to influence those races since there was no influence to have on the Repub side.

It also means that he almost certainly knew of Gwatney's political role, not just his business role.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3792714#3806406

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