Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Suspect in family slayings once worked with children

Carleton Elijah Johnson once worked with children as a volunteer football coach and substitute teacher at Cheyenne High School, but now he is accused of killing two children who were close to him -- his son and niece, both 6.

The former UNLV football player, 35, is also charged with fatally shooting his older brother, John Wellington Johnson IV, 38.

John Johnson was found dead along with his daughter, Johnna Johnson, and Carleton Johnson's son, Kamryn Johnson, Saturday night in the apartment the family shared in the Ritz complex on South Jones Boulevard near Tropicana Avenue.

The elder brother was shot in the back with a shotgun and left to die in the kitchen of his apartment, police said. His girlfriend, Kimberly Kulvinen, walked past Carleton Johnson as he left the apartment, and when she stepped inside, she discovered the victims and began screaming, police said.

The police report offers no motive for the shootings. After Johnson's arrest he said he had nothing to do with the deaths of his family members.

Johnson was served with a notice of financial responsibility by the family court on June 1, according to court records. The complaint was filed by La'twon Rucker, his son's mother.

He also had an ongoing child support struggle with the mother of another child.

Neighbors said earlier that the day of the slayings the kids were playing outside and heard the little girl refer to Carleton Johnson as "unkie,"police said.

Johnson's green Ford Mustang was his prized possession, neighbors said, and he would often leave his apartment door open and sit on the living room couch with a a shotgun, protecting the car.

A neighbor told police he saw Johnson's car speeding out of the parking lot just as John Johnson's girlfriend began screaming.

Police allege that after he left the complex, he parked his car at the Showtime car wash on Tropicana Avenue, east of Jones, then walked to the Royal Palms complex a short distance away.

He allegedly robbed a woman using a double-barrel shotgun wrapped in a white T-shirt and ran away.

He got into a fistfight with some men nearby, investigators say. Police found Johnson's Cheyenne High School identification card and a shotgun shell, which they believed he dropped during the scuffle.

A police officer nearby spotted Johnson and took him into custody.

In a police interview Johnson said he knew nothing about a shooting at his apartment.

"Johnson did not ask what had happened or if his family was OK," police noted in the arrest report.

He said he committed the robbery because he needed money, and as the interview progressed, he said, "I don't want to say anymore. I want an attorney if you're going to charge me."

Johnson, who has also spelled his first name Carlton, had last worked at Cheyenne in October 2004, a district spokesman said, and passed a criminal background check. The 6-foot 10-inch 190-pounder played football for UNLV, earning a letter in 1989-91, according to the Rebels media guide.

A defensive back, he was named to the All-Big West Conference first team in 1991 and 1990. He was named honorable mention all-conference in 1989.

After UNLV he played in the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League.

Monday afternoon, mourners had placed flowers, pictures and cards on the door of the apartment where the slayings occurred.

One photo showed two children dressed in what appeared to be Halloween costumes. The young boy in the photo is wearing a Spiderman outfit and the girl is dressed in a witch costume.

A Father's Day card posted on the door was signed , "Love Johnna and Cameron," while the second card, signed "Kimmie," stated, "You will always be in my heart. Please take care of them. I miss and love you."

Neighbors of the victims described the family as quiet and were surprised by the violence of Saturday's incident.

One neighbor, who identified herself only as Donna and refused to give her last name, said her 3-year-old daughter sometimes played with Johnna Johnson. The little girl liked to ride her bike around the complex, she said.

"I'd never seen her unhappy," she said.

John Johnson was attentive to his daughter and often saw him shuttling her to and from school and other activities, and said he "always took good care of her," the neighbor said.

She said she never saw Kamryn Johnson. It wasn't clear Monday if the boy lived in the apartment.

"I never heard fighting and never head any bad words. They all seemed to get along well," Donna said.

This is the second family-related homicide in Las Vegas in two weeks.

Tom Irwin, 45, apparently shot to death his 72-year-old mother and 10-year-old daughter then shot and killed himself. The bodies were discovered June 10 in their home on the 4500 block of Berkley Avenue.

archive