SEARCY, Ark. — The killer of Arkansas’ Democratic Party chairman had written his victim’s name on a Post-It note and had two sets of car keys from his victim’s car dealership, but links between the men and a motive for the slaying remained a mystery to investigators Thursday.
Police said Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, owned at least 16 guns, had antidepressant pills and made out a will before shooting Bill Gwatney on Wednesday at party headquarters in Little Rock. He had driven there more than 30 miles after losing his job at a Target store over some graffiti written on a store wall.
The name “Gwatney” and a phone number were written on a Post-It note found in Johnson’s home, police said. They wouldn’t say whether the number matched the Democratic headquarters or a Gwatney-owned dealership, if either.
“Those are things we’re investigating. Right now we don’t have any indication of motive as far as it deals with Mr. Gwatney,” said Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings.
After Johnson was killed in a shootout with police, officers found two guns in his pickup. Court documents show that officers searching Johnson’s home found 13 long guns, a pistol and a prescription antidepressant. Police also found a computer and were going through it, Hastings said.
Until Wednesday morning, when he wrote profanity-laced graffiti on a store wall and was questioned by supervisors, Johnson had been a good employee, Target spokeswoman Brie Heath said Thursday.
While police called Johnson’s departure a termination, Heath said he left of his own accord. “It was, ‘Let’s talk.’ It was not about termination,” she said.
