Former Okaloosa County corrections officer charged with murder
Last Friday evening, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call reporting a shooting on Pinto Avenue, S.O. officials said in a social media post. Pinto Avenue is east of Dogwood Drive and just north of the Milton city limits.
“Deputies arrived on the scene and discovered one victim, identified as Barbara Dedert, 41, deceased from apparent gunshot wounds,” S.O. officials said. “The scene was secured, and an active investigation was initiated immediately by the Major Crimes Unit. As a result of the investigation, Curtis Marvin Johnson, 47, has been arrested on charges of second-degree murder.”
Johnson remains jailed without bond at the Santa Rosa County Jail.
Johnson served as an Okaloosa County corrections officer from 2000-2005 and from 2016 until yesterday, when he was fired, Okaloosa County Public Information Officer Nick Tomecek said.
The scene of the incident
According to the arrest report, SRCSO deputies went to a house on Pinto Avenue on Friday evening in reference to a reported suicide. Upon arrival, they found a man, later identified as Johnson, laying on the ground in front of the residence.
“He was laying on his stomach with his hands behind his back and he was begging them to place him in handcuffs,” the reporting officer stated in the report.
Deputies entered the house to check on the condition of Dedert, the potential suicide victim. Medical responders declared her dead at about 9:02 p.m.
“The victim was found laying face down in a fetus like position in a pool of blood, in a hallway just outside the threshold to the bedroom on the north side of the residence,” the reporting officer stated. “Her head was facing north, feet towards the south. (Deputies) observed a possible gun shot entry wound on the back of her shoulder. They observed a firearm inside the bedroom., on the other side of the threshold, on top of some boxes.”
Deputies then secured the scene and contacted the S.O.’s Major Crimes and Crime Scene units.
In the 911 call, Johnson stated that there were shots fired, and the S.O. dispatcher confirmed the address where the shots occurred.
Johnson then stated that “they’re” inside and that he’ll be outside in the “position he needs to be,” according to the report.
“When dispatch askes for the caller’s identity, he initially refuses to tell her, but states that he is law enforcement and that, ‘She (referring to the person inside) was former law enforcement, but she’s a dumb-ass and I told her to go.’”
The dispatcher then asked the caller about the condition of the person inside the house, asking if she was deceased, and the caller eventually answered, “Probably so. She was before,” according to the report.
The report stated that eventually, the caller twice said, “She shot herself” and also said, “She brought it upon herself!” The caller also referred to himself as “Joe.”
According to the report, Johnson, after being taken to the Major Crimes Office, said that earlier that night, he and his live-in roommate had an argument about money, with an emphasis on her not paying her share of the rent.
Johnson said his roommate, Barbara (aka Barb or Barbie), was a platonic friend and former colleague, according to the report.
“Curtis was very adamant that their relationship was not sexual or romantic in nature,” the reporting officer stated. “Curtis no longer wanted to argue with Barbie so he went back to his half of the residence and went to his bedroom, which is located on the north side of the residence. Shortly after, Barb followed him to his room and continued to argue, increasingly becoming more aggressive.
“Curtis at first claimed he couldn’t remember what happened but believes Barb did something to ‘make him feel afraid’ and ‘she got hurt,’” according to the report. It states that Johnson eventually stated that Barb entered his room and “came at him.”
Shell casings
After a search warrant was granted to enter the house, the reporting officer saw Dedert laying face down in a pool of blood in the hallway outside the threshold of Johnson’ bedroom.
“I observed two expended cartridges (shell casings) in the hallway leading up to Barb’s feet,” the reporting officer stated.
He said a third casing was found in a clothes hamper in that hallway, and a fourth casing was found behind a laundry machine next to Dedert’s body.
“The firearm was found in (Johnson’s) bedroom on top of some boxes to the right-side of his doorway when looking into the hallway from inside his bedroom,” the officer stated. “The firearm had one live round in the chamber and two additional rounds in the single stacked magazine. I observed a bullet sized hole on the back of Barb’s shoulder, the back and the front of her same upper thigh, two additional holes on the front of her abdomen, as well as the front base of her neck. I also observed a bullet sized hole on the right side of her head, just above the temple.
“In summary … Barb did not commit suicide as described by Curtis to the dispatcher.”
Dedert was found outside of Johnson’s bedroom, “going towards it but failing to enter,” according to the report. “No casings were found in the bedroom. It was likely that Curtis was in the hallway, potentially behind Barb when he shot her.”