Seller of teen-killer gun sought by PTC police

Tue, 03/20/2007 - 4:24pm
By: John Munford

Peachtree City police say charges will soon be filed against a man who sold a gun that was involved in an unintentional shooting at a late-night teen party in the Centennial neighborhood last year.

The bullet fired from that gun killed Dallas Crenshaw, 18, of Peachtree City. The person who was holding the gun at the time, Kevin Johnston, 18, of Sharpsburg, testified last week and said he bought the gun “from an individual in Peachtree City” but he did not reveal the gun seller’s name.

Johnston’s mother later testified that she was told the gun seller’s name was Andy McFarland. Marilyn Johnston also testified that her son and Dallas Crenshaw had “joint ownership” of the gun.

Kevin Johnston pled guilty last week to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to serve eight years in prison followed by two years on probation.

Johnston testified that he never meant to hurt Crenshaw, who was one of his closest friends. The two were so close that Crenshaw was present during an ultrasound of Johnston’s then-pregnant girlfriend when the couple found out they were having a boy.

Police said a witness told them he saw Johnston waving the gun around moments before the gun discharged, with the bullet striking Johnston in the chest. As he was being prepared to be taken to a hospital, the mortally wounded Crenshaw declined to give police an accurate representation of the shooting, police said.

Johnston testified that he had consumed between 15 and 20 beers that evening and also smoked some marijuana. Johnston’s brother testified that his younger sibling bought the gun to protect himself from a person who had tried to rob him.

Police have been working to identify who gave Johnston the gun since the initial stages of the shooting investigation, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. The problem until recently has been getting concrete evidence to file charges with, Murray said.

Police have determined that the gun was sold at an area flea market after it had been stolen from a sheriff’s deputy in Alabama, Murray said.

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