Charges dropped in fatal shooting

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

One of six men charged in the slaying of a North Las Vegas woman while she attended her sister's wake will not face murder charges.

Prosecutors on Tuesday dismissed multiple charges against Corey Johnson, one of the alleged gang members charged in the 2001 drive-by shooting that killed 35-year-old Gwendolyn Jones, a mother of six.

Jones was attending a wake for her sister, who had died of cancer. Four others were injured, including an 8-year-old girl who was shot in the leg.

Johnson, 25, faced 10 felony charges, including murder with use of a deadly weapon and battery with a deadly weapon. He faced a potential life sentence if convicted.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said prosecutors did not have enough evidence against Johnson.

"We reviewed the evidence and we decided we could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.

Johnson's attorney, Ross Goodman, called the dismissal a "huge victory." He maintained his client did not know anything about the shooting.

"Corey and I were both confident that we were ultimately going to get the case dismissed, or if the case went to trial, it would result in a not guilty verdict," he said.

Johnson's co-defendant, 23-year-old Joey Clark, who prosecutors believe was the shooter, is expected to stand trial in December.

Johnson and Clark were the last two men to face charges in the shooting. Three other men who pleaded guilty to various conspiracy charges stemming from the shooting were sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $16,500 restitution.

But prosecutors say proving Johnson's connection to the case was more difficult.

"The only evidence we had was some pretty shaky eyewitness identification," Kane said.

One witness told authorities that she thought she saw Johnson transfer a gun to Clark's car moments before the shooting.

Prosecutors believe the bullets were meant for another man who was also attending the wake. They say the shooting was an act of revenge stemming from a confrontation at the Martin Luther King Day Parade in January 2001.