Two arrested in Johnson death

In December, 2022, Century resident Cynthia Franklin was asking questions and getting no answers when unofficial sources and friends started calling and telling her that her son, Lavor Chante Johnson, 43, of Century had been shot and killed in Frisco City.

She still has questions today and not too many answers, but within the last two weeks a Monroe County grand jury indicted Jayden Devon Jenkins, 20, of Frisco City for murder and attempted murder in the Dec. 15, 2022, death of Johnson. While Cynthia Franklin is finally getting some closure she is still seeking answers. Jenkins was also shot in the incident, which left him paralyzed from the waist down, according relatives.

Last Wednesday Akeem Paul Anthony Davis, Jr., 24, of Frisco City was arrested on murder charges in Johnson's death and remains in the Monroe County Jail on $1.25 million bond.

Despite the indictments of Jenkins and Davis, Franklin said Saturday she has yet to be told by officials who killed her son and why he was killed.

This past Saturday, friends and family of Lavor Johnson gathered at Century Cemetery to honor Johnson by releasing balloons in his honor at his gravesite, where the family recently placed a headstone.

"It's still hard, Franklin said. "Lavor was a good person who would never hurt anybody and I still don't know exactly what happened."

According to Monroe County Sheriff Tom Boatwright, deputies arrested Jenkins about 2:50 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, at the Oak Ridge Apartments in Frisco City and transported him to the Monroe County Jail. He was later released on $160,000 bond.

Frisco City Assistant Police Chief Daryl Knowles stated in December, 2022, that Frisco City police officers responded to a shots fired call about 2 p.m. on Dec. 15 at a location on Harvestview Drive, located off the Excel-Frisco City Highway. Police reported finding two men with gunshot wounds. Johnson was pronounced dead and the second victim was seriously injured.

Police noted at the time that two guns were recovered at the scene of the shooting.

Getting no answers from Monroe County in December, 2022, Franklin said she had to reach out to the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office to verify her son had been shot to death.

"Nobody has contacted me," Franklin said almost a week after her son died. "My son didn't do anything to anybody. Everybody loved Lavor."