SUSPECTS IN CASINO MURDER CAPTURED www.privateofficer.com

Suspects In Casino Murder Captured by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com

Biloxi ms. Nov. 7 2007–

Police on Monday charged two suspects with capital murder in the shooting death of Arkansas businessman Jim Johnson II, the underlying crime being robbery.Weldon Leagea, 42, and Chana Wells, 22, both of Baton Rouge, are being held in Louisiana awaiting extradition, which could take more than a week, Assistant District Attorney Mark Ward said.

Johnson, of Hot Springs, was found in his Isle of Capri hotel room on Oct. 18. Here on a golf vacation, the 49-year-old failed to meet with a group of 11 others, prompting hotel security to check his room about 7 a.m. He had been shot twice in the stomach.

No guest reported hearing gunfire, Capt. Darrin Peterson said. Evidence collected from the hotel room and Leagea’s car, along with interviews with witnesses, linked the two to the crime, which is punishable by death.

Investigators are releasing scant details, saying more information will come out during trial.

“Our canon of ethics really has us limited to all the stuff we can say,” Ward said.

Peterson applauded officials from Baton Rouge, Oakdale, La., and the Isle of Capri for their assistance in the murder probe.

“We’ll continue to investigate and collect information,” he said.

Both suspects have extensive rap sheets, according to East Baton Rouge Parish records.

Three years before the Johnson murder, Wells admitted mopping up blood to cover up a homicide in Baton Rouge. There, the fugitive from justice faces charges of aggravated robbery, accessory to first-degree murder, arson and aggravated kidnapping.

Leagea, a convicted robber, has been in and out of prison since 1983. Paroled in 2003, he stopped reporting to his probation officer in July.

Johnson was buried Oct. 23 at his church, Piney Grove United Methodist in Hot Springs.

Brett Millender, who helped carry the golf-motif casket to the gravesite, described Johnson as giving, deeply religious and passionate about everything he did. But his friend never wanted credit for his benevolence.

“If the food pantry was low, he would meet the pastor late enough and fill it by himself,” Millender said. “It’s a true, true tragedy.”

Police ask that anyone who had contact with the suspects in Biloxi, between Oct. 14 and Oct. 18, call investigators at 435-6112, or 392-0641