A Mobile man turned himself in to Prichard police early Tuesday, hours after a shooting on Center Street left a 33-year-old man dead, in a case that marked the seventh homicide investigation opened by Prichard detectives this year.
Medics pronounced Antonio Jerold Yow, 33, dead after finding him unresponsive on the floor of a home on Center Street around 7 p.m. Monday. Several hours later, 27-year-old Anthony Demetric Johnson of Mobile turned himself in to officers with the Prichard Police Department, according to Philip Stiell, chief of staff for Prichard Mayor Troy Ephriam.
In the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, authorities booked Johnson into Mobile County Metro Jail on charges of first-degree burglary, third-degree domestic violence and violation of a protection order. Stiell said charges directly connected to the shooting death remained pending at the time of Johnson’s arrest, as investigators continued piecing together the circumstances surrounding Yow’s death.
Police continued investigating the case Tuesday, and Prichard officials asked anyone with additional information about the shooting to contact the department directly at 251-452-2211.
The killing added to a difficult year for Prichard, a Mobile County city that has seen a string of homicide investigations in 2015. City officials and police leadership have pointed to disputes among people who know each other, rather than random violence, as a recurring theme in many of the cases opened so far this year.
The domestic violence and protection order charges filed against Johnson in connection with his arrest suggest investigators were already aware of tension between Johnson and people connected to the case before the shooting occurred, though authorities have not detailed the exact relationship between Johnson and Yow.
Prichard police say the investigation remains active, with additional charges possible as detectives continue to review evidence gathered from the Center Street scene. The case underscores ongoing concerns among Mobile County law enforcement about the pace of violent crime in the city’s smaller municipalities, where limited resources can strain investigators working multiple open homicide cases simultaneously.