TEXARKANA, Texas–A Bowie County grand jury indicted two men Monday in the 2016 shooting of a 32-year-old Texarkana man who was attacked in his home on Waterman Street.
Treveyon Tyrone Henderson, 24, and Ecourtlynn Tyeoski Johnson, 22, are accused in the Jan. 29, 2016, death of Fredric Griffin. At the time of the killing, Henderson was 17 and Johnson was 15.
Because of their ages then, neither man is eligible for the death penalty if found guilty of capital murder. Individuals under age 18 who are found guilty of capital murder face a sentence of life with parole possible after 40 years.
A witness who was with Griffin at the time told investigators two men wearing black ski masks had forced them at gunpoint into Griffin’s house in the 500 block of Waterman while demanding cash and Griffin’s “chopper,” a slang term used to refer to a firearm, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The eyewitness said that the pair of suspects fired two shots each at Griffin, one with a revolver and the other with a .380 pistol, the affidavit said. When they left the apartment, one of the suspects allegedly hit the eyewitness with a pistol in the left side of his head and took $2 dollars from his pocket.
In 2017, investigators spoke with a witness who told them that he heard Henderson and Johnson, both of whom are described as members of “Unstable,” planning to rob Griffin. He said that after the shooting, Henderson and Johnson returned to the apartment where they had earlier discussed their plan to rob Griffin and that they had cigarettes with blood on them and a hoodie worn by Johnson was stained with blood. Additional witnesses were interviewed in 2019.
According to a past Texarkana Texas Police Department social media post, a warrant for Henderson had been active for a couple of years before his arrest in June, but was not served while he was in prison serving time for a 2016 robbery. Court records indicate a warrant is currently active for Johnson’s arrest.
Henderson is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $1 million.
