Dallas Area: Cory Lamar Jones Gets Caught on DART Bus with an Invalid Pass, So Naturally He Starts Shooting People, Killing Eric Thomas Johnson, and

Committing Suicide-by-Cop
Posted by Nicholas Stix

 

Murder victim Eric Thomas Johnson, 42: He mistakenly happened to be on the same planet, at the same time, as Cory Jones

 

Victim Russell Weinstein says he was shot by police officer Nikisha Manderson, who had just herself been shot by Cory Lamar Jones

 

Killer Cory Lamar Jones, 27. I can empathize—I always start killing people when my bus pass runs out. Doesn’t everyone?

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Bystander Killed in DART Shooting
Gunman, bystander dead after shooting on train platform
By Frank Heinz
Wednesday, Feb 8, 2012 | Updated 12:50 p.m. CST
 

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A bystander was killed and two people, including a Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer, were injured in a gun battle at a train station in Richardson. The gunman was later fatally shot in a nearby building.

Officials said a bus passenger shot a DART police officer and two bystanders at the Arapaho Center Station on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the injured bystanders died Tuesday night at a Plano hospital. The DART officer was expected to recover, and the other bystander was seen leaving the hospital Tuesday night.

Richardson police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Perlich said an argument between the passenger and a bus driver over the validity of a bus pass appears to have sparked the shooting.

The driver left the bus and told a DART police officer about the argument while stopped at the Arapaho Center Station shortly before 4 p.m. The passenger got off the bus and headed for the train platform when he saw the driver talking to the officer.

The man then pulled out a gun and started firing when the officer approached him on the platform, and she returned fire.

The officer was struck twice, once in her bulletproof vest and a second time in her shoulder.

It was not immediately clear whose bullets had struck the two bystanders, Perlich said.

Perlich said the gunman fled the train platform and barricaded himself inside a Vent-a-Hood manufacturing facility near the station.
DART police officers followed the man into the warehouse and exchanged gunfire with him.

They found the gunman dead from a gunshot wound to the head, police said. Perlich said it was not yet clear if it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound or if an officer shot him.

None of the estimated 100 employees inside the warehouse reported any injuries.
The two bystanders were transported to Medical Center of Plano, where one of the victims died.

The other bystander was released from the hospital Tuesday night. He could be seen limping, and his right arm was in a sling.

DART officers with the victim would not allow him to speak to NBC 5. A DART spokesman said they needed to speak with him first and then referred all questions to Richardson police.

DART reopened the Arapaho Center Station at 1051 N. Greenville Ave. at about 6:20 p.m. Red Line trains were stopping at the station, and a bus bridge between Galatyn Park and Arapaho Center stations was canceled.

NBC 5's Ray Villeda, Ellen Goldberg and Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.

 
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Gunman in deadly shootout at Richardson DART station had lengthy criminal history
By Jeffrey Weiss and Jason Trahan
February 8, 2012, 3:48 p.m.
Dallas Morning News

The man who officials say triggered Tuesday’s fatal shooting at a DART station in Richardson had a long criminal history, including a charge for throwing an elbow into a police officer. But investigators say they still don’t know whether Cory Lamar Jones killed an innocent bystander — or himself.

Eric Johnson, 42, just happened to be at the Arapaho Center Station when the shooting happened. He died of his wounds. Another bystander, Russell Weinstein, 54, and DART police Officer Nikisha Manderson were shot but not seriously injured.

Here’s what Richardson police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Perlich said officials have pieced together about the chaotic scene from Tuesday afternoon:

Shortly before 3:30 p.m., Jones, 27, got on a bus parked in front of the DART station at Arapaho Road and Greenville Avenue. His bus pass wasn’t valid. He got into an argument with the driver and refused to leave the bus. The driver spotted Manderson walking nearby.

When the driver left the bus to talk to Manderson, Jones also left the bus and ran through an underground tunnel into the nearby DART train station. Manderson chased him, though police did not say why.

She caught up with Jones on the train platform. They spoke briefly, and Jones pulled out a gun and shot several times, hitting Manderson twice. She was struck in her upper left arm and chest, one bullet striking her bulletproof vest. She drew her pistol and shot several times but did not hit Jones.

Two bystanders were hit by bullets. Weinstein told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) that he was standing directly behind Jones when the shooting started. He said Jones and the officer had a short conversation.

“‘I just want to get to my destination.’ He kept saying that over and over,” Weinstein said. “She said, ‘You need to calm down.’”

When Jones started shooting, Weinstein said, he saw Johnson get hit and fall to the ground. Weinstein was shot as Manderson fired at Jones. Weinstein, who said the bullet that hit him was from Manderson’s weapon, was grazed across the top of one shoulder.

“Ten seconds later, I looked up and the cop was coming over to me to see if I’m OK,” he said. “I said, ‘I’ve been shot.’ She said, ‘I’ve been shot, too.’”

Perlich said police could not say yet whose shots hit the two bystanders.

After the exchange of gunfire, Jones ran off the platform and across Greenville Avenue. As Jones fled, Manderson radioed arriving officers and started to provide first aid to the wounded.

Jones ran into the nearby Vent-A-Hood warehouse, which was filled with employees.
Three DART officers followed him in. He shot at them and they fired back. When the officers reached Jones, he had suffered a single fatal shot to the head. Perlich said police won’t know until ballistics tests are completed whether Jones killed himself or was shot by one of the officers.

Johnson was taken to Methodist Richardson Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His death ended a lifelong battle against physical and mental challenges. He had been born largely deaf and almost blind after his mother contracted rubella during pregnancy.

Staff writer Avi Selk contributed to this report.


Cory Jones’ arrest history

Cory Lamar Jones’ death ended his string of mostly petty crimes.

In May 2002, he got into an argument with his stepfather in Allen and was charged with misdemeanor family violence assault. He received two years’ probation, but it was eventually revoked, Collin County court records show.

In February 2003, Allen police arrested Jones on a misdemeanor charge of burglary of a vehicle from 2001. The case was dismissed because the statute of limitations had lapsed, records show.

In March 2005, Jones was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor theft, Dallas County records show. He pleaded guilty and served about 10 days in jail.

In May 2005, Allen police arrested Jones on a third-degree felony charge of assault on a public servant. He was trying to get into his grandfather’s house when his grandfather called police. When police arrived, Jones struck an officer with his elbow. He spent 153 days in the county jail and received three years’ probation, a police official said.

In 2007, his probation was revoked and he was rearrested in Collin County. He spent 234 days in jail. He finished his Collin County probation in April 2010.
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Bystander, Gunman in DART Shooting Identified
Special Olympics athlete from Plano delegation killed in shooting
By Elvira Sakmari, Ellen Goldberg and Omar Villafranca
Thursday, Feb 9, 2012 | Updated 1:18 a.m. CST
NBC 5 News

The best friend of Eric Johnson, a bystander killed when a man and a DART officer exchanged gunfire at a train station, says his friend was a loving man and "the nicest person you could ever meet."

A Special Olympics athlete from the Plano delegation who was waiting for a train was killed when a man and Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer exchanged gunfire at a train station in Richardson on Tuesday.

Eric Thomas Johnson, 42, of North Dallas, died at Medical Center of Plano on Tuesday night, according to the Dallas Medical Examiner's Office.

Johnson was one of three people shot on the train platform at the Arapaho Center Station. Another bystander, Russell Weinstein, and a DART Officer Nikisha Manderson were also injured.

The gunman, Cory Lamar Jones, 27, died after exchanging gunfire with three other officers at a nearby manufacturing facility.

 

Friends Say Slain Bystander Took DART Everywhere

Johnson was taking the train to meet his best friend at a movie theater, friends said.

They said he likely never heard the shots or saw the commotion on the rail platform before he was killed.

"I hate to say what's going through his mind, but as you work with these adults with cognitive delays, being in a situation like that would be completely strange to them," said John Makuta, Johnson's basketball coach.

Makuta coached Johnson on a Special Olympics basketball team in Plano for the past 10 years.

"I will tell you, at times on the basketball court, I had to tell the referees that Eric couldn't hear the whistle," he said. "And sure enough, at least once a game, the whistle would go off, and he'd grab the ball and keep going because he couldn't hear."

Friends said Johnson didn't let it slow him down.

"He's not only my friend, he was like a brother," Shay Allen said.

He said singing karaoke was the only thing Johnson loved more than movies.

"His karaoke skills need a little help, but he's a good karaoke guy," Allen said.

Johnson was a regular for Friday night karaoke at Harbor Point, a bar in Richardson.

"With his challenges, he still had the spirit to get up on stage and sing and act like a rock star," said Tracy Epperson, a bartender at Harbor Point.

Johnson was always a crowd favorite, she said.

"When he would get off stage, the crowd would cheer, and he would be like, 'I nailed it,' and everybody was hooping and hollering."

Friends said Johnson's favorite song to karaoke was "I Believe I Can Fly." They said they believe it was his favorite because he believed he could do anything, despite his disabilities.

Harbor Point plans to host a celebration of Johnson's life on Friday night's karaoke night.

Funeral arrangements are still pending.

 

Injured Bystander Says He Was "Extremely Lucky"

Weinstein, a New York City native, was shot in his shoulder. His arm was in a sling Wednesday and he was still in pain, but he said it could have been worse.

"Extremely lucky -- considering the New York Giants won two days ago, and then this, I'm pretty lucky," he said.

In an interview Wednesday at his South Dallas home, Weinstein said he learned what a gunshot felt like.

"Burning, and you know you're shot," he said. "It hurts. It feels like a burn. I knew my shoulder hurt -- I could feel warmth -- so I knew I was bleeding. I just figured at that point I was hit."

He said he heard Manderson try to question Jones about a bus pass. Weinstein said he was less than 10 feet away when he heard Jones tell the officer, "I just want to get to my destination."

The next thing he heard was gunfire.

"I heard two shots," he said. "I saw one guy drop, and then I saw the cop pull her gun and start firing. It happened so quick. Between his two shots and her five shots, it took two second."

Weinstein said he saw Manderson get shot and felt her bullet hit his shoulder.
"I realized, 'I'm directly in the line of fire,'" he said. "I felt a shot directly in the right side -- right shoulder -- and I just dropped. She kept firing and I said, 'I'm directly in the line of fire.'"

He said he saw a bullet fired by Jones hit another bystander about 20 feet away.
"I knew he was shot the way he fell," Weinstein said. "He didn't stagger back -- he just dropped."

 

Passenger Shot by DART Officer, He Says: MyFoxDFW.com

 

Richardson police said Tuesday that it was not immediately clear whose bullets struck Weinstein and Johnson.

Manderson, who was wearing a protective vest, was treated for minor injuries.

Weinstein said he talked to her while they were being treated.

"I know one of the shots hit her in the chest, because I saw her notepad, and it had a bullet wound on it," he said. "She showed it to me in the ambulance. She didn't know if she shot me. I said, 'Yeah, you're the one that shot me.' I said, 'I'm not mad at you. He shot the other guy; you shot me.'"
 

Gunman Had Criminal History

Jones fled the train platform and barricaded himself inside a nearby Vent-a-Hood manufacturing facility.

DART police officers followed him into the warehouse and exchanged gunfire with him.

They found him dead from a gunshot wound to the head, Richardson police said. Police said Tuesday that it was not yet clear if it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound or if an officer shot him.

In 2002, Jones (pictured left) pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily injury to a family member, a Class A misdemeanor.

He was sent to jail for 45 days, according to police records.

In 2005, Jones was arrested for assault on a public servant. He pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony in a McKinney court.

Public records show Jones paid $324 in court costs and was on probation for three years and six months.

NBC 5's Ray Villeda and Ellen Goldberg contributed to this report.