A Charleston man who allegedly killed another man last month had been wanted on a federal warrant since December.
John Stanley Ford III, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Bryant Johnson, 52, on the city's West Side.
Ford allegedly entered Johnson's First Avenue apartment dressed in all black, with his face covered by a mask, on April 30. After knocking on Johnson's apartment door, Ford said his name was Kevin, and was able to gain entry, Charleston Police Det. Richard Basford testified Tuesday in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Johnson was found by police in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor, Basford said. He had been shot twice - once in the chest and once in the groin, the detective said.
Since Dec. 19 of last year, Ford has been wanted by federal authorities after he allegedly violated the conditions of his supervised release. Ford pleaded guilty in 2015 to the unlawful transport of firearms and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver Jr. to a year and a half in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Ford admitted in the federal case to illegally having a .40 caliber pistol in February 2014. He had previously been convicted in 2011 of wanton endangerment in Kanawha Circuit court, which bars him from possessing guns.
The order signed by Copenhaver in December, which revoked Ford's supervised release and ordered his arrest, came in response to information from probation officers assigned to monitor Ford.
Federal probation officers wrote to the judge that Ford had failed a series of drug screenings and also admitted to using illegal substances last year, between September and December, when the arrest warrant was issued.
A probation officer wrote in September that Ford tested positive for and admitted to smoking marijuana.
In early October, Ford admitted to using a powerful prescription opioid, Opana, the document filed by probation officers states. Later that month and through early December, Ford also admitted to using heroin and other drugs on multiple occasions.
Several times Ford was referred to attend treatment programs for drug addiction, but he never went until Nov. 23, when he arrived at the Prestera Center in Dunbar.
During the initial assessment, however, Prestera employees determined that he was under the influence of an illegal substance, probation officers wrote. Because of that, Ford wasn't allowed to enter the program without first completing a detox program.
Prestera employees secured a bed at Highland Hospital that same day, which would have allowed Ford to detox. He left Highland, though, against medical advice, the court document states.
During the investigation into Johnson's death, police wrote in a criminal complaint filed against Ford that Michelle Gray, the mother of Ford's daughter, told them she and Ford had gotten a ride to Johnson's house to buy heroin on the night he was killed.
Johnson's friends have said he didn't sell heroin. Prosecutors said Tuesday that, at this point in their investigation, they have no evidence of Johnson selling that drug. But Basford testified Tuesday that it was well known that Johnson, who went by the nickname "B," sold crack cocaine.
Two women inside Johnson's home when he was shot told police they heard gun shots begin to ring out while Johnson was in his bedroom. They heard more shots in the kitchen and then saw their friend collapse, the detective testified.
Ford remains in South Central Regional Jail. A Kanawha County grand jury will decide whether to indict him after a magistrate found probable cause to move the case forward on Tuesday.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.