Chilling Discovery: NYC Criminal Justice Reform Advocate Arrested in Connection with Dismembered Body Found in Freezer
March 11 2024, Published 12:02 p.m. ET
A convicted felon turned criminal justice advocate was arrested in New York after police say they found a headless body in the victim’s apartment.
On March 5, the superintendent of an apartment building in the Bronx where 44-year-old Collin Small lived contacted the New York Police Department to conduct a welfare check after he heard several gunshots, according to court documents obtained by The New York Times.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows the suspect, Sheldon Johnson, walking in and out of Small’s apartment several times as well as carrying cleaning supplies and a large trash bag, according to the NYPD.
Officials said the man seen on the video evidence changed outfits and wore different hats and at one point wore a wig.
Officers arrived late on the evening of March 5 and knocked on Small’s apartment door, which Johnson reportedly answered.
After investigators obtained a warrant to search the apartment, they discovered Small’s torso and feet in a plastic bin and his head, arms and legs in a freezer.
Small reportedly sustained at least one gunshot wound to the head, according to authorities.
On March 7, Johnson was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon, officials said.
Court records show Johnson recently served 25 years in prison after he was convicted of robbery and attempted murder while a member of the Bloods gang.
Johnson was released from prison in May 2023.
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Upon his release, the suspect became a criminal justice reform advocate, worked for the Queens public defender’s office and even recently appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Johnson was booked into jail and was being held without bail.
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