Ethan Johnson

Name:
Johnson, Ethan Wade

Date of Booking:
04/05/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
COUNTY ORDINANCE-DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On 4/4/25 at approximately 2356 hours I responded to [300 BLOCK] Hoke Rd in reference to physical altercation between brothers. While in route to this call I figured this was going to be a fight between Ethan Wade Johnson and his brother in-law w/m Colby Rowell. I figured this because it was not the first time we have handled altercation between Ethan and other members of that house.

Upon my arrival I made contact with a w/f named [WITNESS #1] (Ethan’s mother) that advised “he is at it again”. She was referring to her son named Ethan Johnson. She said over the last few days law enforcement had been called out to this address in reference to Ethan showing out and trying to fight with them. She then advised Ethan had been under a bit of stress over his one year nearly dying and having a DFCS case opened against them. When she said that a w/m that was identified as [VICTIM #1] walked up and stated the incident with the baby happened the next morning after law enforcement had responded out the last time Ethan had acted a fool. Ms [WITNESS #1] then started telling me Ethan and her other son w/m named [VICTIM #1] got into a fight. She also advised Ethan walk down the road when he discovered law enforcement had been called to come out. She stated it’s the same thing he does every time he’s involved in an altercation.

I then spoke with [VICTIM #1], I asked him what the fight was about. He stated Ethan began acting crazy because he ([VICTIM #1]) told Ethan getting his babies took is going to painful. He stated Ethan became so upset that he ([VICTIM #1]) told him that, Ethan called [VICTIM #1] to the yard to fight. [VICTIM #1] stated when he stepped off the porch Ethan began swinging punches. I asked [VICTIM #1] if Ethan landed any of those punches and he advised yes.

I commented this is getting to be a regular event with Ethan. At this time we heard some noise in the woods to the south edge of the property, assuming it was Ethan slipping around in the woods. I called out to Ethan giving him instructions to come out of the woods, to come out and talk to me. I yelled out plenty loud enough he could have heard me but he did not respond nor did he come out. I then walked over to where the noise came from but did not see Ethan.

When I stopped searching for Ethan in the woods and walked back over to the house and Ms [WITNESS #1] let me know just before my arrival she could hear Ethan in the wood on his phone asking for someone to come pick him up. Being there on multiple calls I knew Ethan did not stay in the house, I knew him and his girlfriend/baby momma w/f named [WITNESS #2] stays in the camper located in the back yard. Knowing this I walked around back to the camper and made contact with the girlfriend [WITNESS #2] and asked if Ethan was in the camper. She advised he was not and she was not going to let him come in tonight because of how he is acting. She offered to let me search the camper and I declined giving her instructions to call 911 if he did shows up. She advised she would call.

I then walked over to my truck so I could use the computer to gather everyone’s information to do a report. While gathering the information [WITNESS #2] walked up from the back yard to let me know her and Ethan have an app that lets them see each others current location and he is currently standing where Hoke Rd and J Terrell Rd meet which weren’t but a couple hundred yards away. With this information I drove to that location to search for Ethan again to give him a chance to tell his side of the story but it was clear he was going to hide to avoid contact with any law enforcement officers. After a quick search I returned back to the residence.

When I returned I asked Ms [WITNESS #1] who actually called 911 and she advised her daughter [VICTIM #2]. While I began gathering Ms [VICTIM #2]’s information from the computer Ms [WITNESS #1] began telling me DFCS was already involved in the incident with Ethan’s 1 year old. She stated a few days ago [WITNESS #2] came over from the camper carrying the baby and the baby was limp and barely breathing. She stated the baby was rushed to Wolferson’s children’s hospital in Jacksonville and nearly died. I asked her what did they say happened to the baby and she advised the baby had “weed” marijuana in her system. She then advised me DFCS named her as the safe person for the children through the safety plan assessment. She provided me with the case workers name assigned to the case which was a Ms [REDACTED]. I asked if she is suppose to have custody / possession of the babies during the assessment and she advised yes. I let her know DFCS will be forwarded a copy of the report and briefed on this incident. I then advised her when I made contact with [WITNESS #2] she stated the babies did not witness this altercation because they were asleep in the camper. I asked her if DFCS placed the babies with her why are they sleeping in the same house, under the same conditions as they were when the 1 year old nearly died. Why are they in the camper when they are suppose to be sleeping in the house with their granny not in the camper with their mother.

Ms [WITNESS #1] then told me the case worker told her since they live so close together it would be okay if they continued staying and sleeping with mother but she just needed to keep an eye on them and she is suppose call DFCS if she sees anything that’s not right. I expressed my concerns with this arrangement which is the exact same arrangement the babies were living in when the 1 year old nearly died. I did tell her however since the babies did not witness this incident there may not be any action from DFCS in reference to this incident. However it did not sound right to me and I did not think DFCS would have put the babies right back into the same conditions like this. I advised her I would be inquiring if this is what DFCS set up as the arrangements because to me that is not much of a safety plan.

I then requested the complainant [VICTIM #2] to come outside to give me a statement. [VICTIM #2] came out and advised she was in the bedroom and did not witness the beginning of the fight. She stated she heard their dog start barking aggressively and that got her attention so she came out of the room to see what was going on. She stated the first thing she saw was her mother looking outside and it was at that time she heard one of them, Ethan or [VICTIM #1] yelling. She said she then looked out and saw Ethan and [VICTIM #1] were locked up together on the ground. She stated [VICTIM #1] was holding Ethan trying to get him to stop and Ethan weren’t showing any signs he was going to stop. She stated being 7 months pregnant she weren’t about to get involved by trying to break it up so she called 911. She stated after calling 911 they broke apart.

I then asked [VICTIM #1] to tell me from the beginning what happened. He stated he came home from work around 2300 hours and could see Ethan was drinking. He stated he knew with the open DFCS case Ethan is not suppose to be drinking or doing drugs. He stated he asked [VICTIM #2] if he was drunk and she stated he has had one or two beer. He stated he asked [VICTIM #2] is Ethan under the influence of some else because he appears “fu*ked up”. He stated [VICTIM #2] said the only thing she knew of is he had was a couple of beers.

[VICTIM #1] stated a little later him, [VICTIM #2] and Ethan were hanging out in the back yard since Ethan and [WITNESS #2] had been arguing and she would not let him in the camper. He stated [VICTIM #2] went in after a short time and left him and Ethan alone in the back yard. [VICTIM #1] stated he decided to take that time to talk to Ethan about the incident with his baby and the DFCS case. He stated it was then Ethan flipped out and demanded to fight. He said when he stepped off the door steps and Ethan started swinging punches. He stated they rolled around for maybe 5 minutes. I asked if anyone saw the beginning of the altercation and he stated not the beginning but [WITNESS #2] came out right after it all started.

While getting that statement deputy Drew Stone arrived on scene. After Dep Stone arrived I asked for [WITNESS #2] to update me on Ethan’s current location and she advised me Ethan has turned the phone off but when he did that his location was still the same which was on the road just south of the house. I started to walk over to that area without using any light to attempt to locate Ethan. As I began to walk in that direction a truck that was traveling north on Hoke road towards Raybon Rd came by. I asked dep Stone to stop the truck to make sure Ethan weren’t in that truck trying to leave the area. As dep Stone went to pull out of the yard a grey color older sedan came up traveling south back toward J Terrell Rd. This car drove past the yard and stopped at the edge of the wood line for just a second before driving away.

I quickly got into my patrol vehicle and ran this vehicle down. The vehicle went to the intersection and made a right onto J Terrell Rd. Approximately a hundred yards down J Terrell Rd I initiated a traffic stop on this vehicle. I made contact with the occupants which was a w/f named [WITNESS #3] that was driving. Front seat passenger was a w/m named [WITNESS #4] and the rear seat occupant was a w/m named Ethan Wade Johnson. Ethan was asked to exit the vehicle and was secured in handcuffs to be secured in the rear seat of my patrol vehicle until I completed the investigation. The driver and front passengers were warned to never come pick up someone from a scene being investigated again and was let go after a warrant check was completed. Ethan was transported back to the residence so I could complete the investigation.

While in transport Ethan gave a side to the incident that mirrored what I had been told except he said [VICTIM #1] started the fight and threw the first punch. I advised Ethan I would question everyone again to compare their story to his. When I returned back to the house I advised Ms [WITNESS #1] and [VICTIM #1] what Ethan remember. I advised them him and Ethan both gave the same story. However Ethan remembers it was [VICTIM #1] the threw the first punch. They stated understand Ethan will tell a lie. While talking to them again I learned after Ethan and [VICTIM #1] broke apart Ethan began throwing everything he could get his hands on and was trying to fight every one of them. [WITNESS #2] advised Ethan also picked up a shovel and was threatened to use it on [VICTIM #1] and she took the shovel from him. I let them know him and Ethan both could be charged with a misdemeanor battery charge. However I tend to believe [VICTIM #1]’s story a little more than I do Ethan’s. I let them know it is of my opinion this incident actually occurred due to Ethan’s bad behaviors. I let them know with that being said Ethan is going to be charged with a county ordinance disorderly conduct.

After explaining that to [VICTIM #1] I woke back over to my truck and explain to Ethan the charge he is going to receive. While explaining this to Ethan he began told me, with intent to get everybody else in trouble there is a couple of pounds of marijuana in a gun cabinet located in house.

When Ethan told me this I walked back over to the house and spoke with Ms [WITNESS #1] which is the only person still outside. I asked her if there was a gun cabinet in the house with a large quantity of marijuana in it and she stated no. I advised her if there isn’t any marijuana in the gun cabinet she should not mind letting me look in the cabinet to debunk the accusations. She advised me it is not her house. I advised her she lives in the house and if she has access to the cabinet she can give consent. She stated she would need to get permission from her son in -law Colby Rowell and he is at work. I asked her where is his work and she advised Colby works at the mines. She stated she could call Colby and I advised her to do that. She stated she would need to get her phone and I replied for to make that happen.

Ms [WITNESS #1] got up and went in the housr to retrieve her phone and i followed her up to the front door. I stopped at the front door and did not walk in because first I could see Ms [WITNESS #1] through the door and second when she entered the house they have a dog in the house that was attempting to come out the door so I did not open the door so he could not get out. While standing at the door I asked Ms [WITNESS #1] who all was in the house and she advised her, [VICTIM #2], and [VICTIM #2]’s [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. I asked her where did [VICTIM #1] go and she stated he went to the camper in the back yard. Since I weren’t in the house and to prevent anyone from counseling, or damaging any evidence or controbanc I requested she tell everyone to slip on some shoes and come out side. While standing there at the door I kept cracking the storm door open attepting to get the dog to back up enough I could enter without letting the dog escape. Everytime I would open and close the door a small amount of would come out like a wave and with the escaping air from the housr I could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the house.

I stayed there at the front door as long as I was able to keep a clear view on Ms [WITNESS #1] but after just about 45 seconds she walked away towards the north end of the house and I was unable to see her. When I could no longer see where she was at or what she was doing I opened the door and stepped in. When I stepped in I saw [VICTIM #1] entering the house through the back door and saw Ms [WITNESS #1] and [VICTIM #2] coming out of the bedroom located at the north end of the house. They all came to the living room and since I was able to keep and eye on everyone I did not request them to exit the house. While in the living room I asked [VICTIM #1] if he knew anything about a large quantity of marijuana in a gun cabinet and he acted as if he did not know anything about any marijuana in the cabinet. I asked everybody else and nobody spoke up.

I let them all know I can smell the marijuana and [VICTIM #1] tried to tell me it was a insent I were smelling. I advised him I smell both the insent and the marijuana and since nobody can tell me I had no choice but to order everyone outside, have an Investigator get a search warrant to search the house and cabinet for the marijuana. It was then [VICTIM #2] spoke up and said there is a small jar of marijuana in the cabinet. She advised me it was not her marijuana but there is some in the cabinet. I explained that if it a larger amount I care if it just a small amount a misdemeanor amount I don’t care so much. I explained it did not matter large or small I can not let them keep it. [VICTIM #2] got up and went to the bed room to show me the marijuana. She went to a night stand on the left side of the bed and collected a key then walked over and unlocked the gun cabinet. Once open there were two small jars of marijuana, several drug related items, a can of marijuana roaches and a container of DAB. Later to be weighed later on their own digital scales 1.27 oz of marijuana, 0.50 oz of roaches, 20.6 grams of THC “DAB”, a smoking device, rolling papers, and 2 metal picks, and a pair of scissors were collected.

After collecting these items Mr Ethan was transported to the jail to be booked on the disorderly conduct charge. The drug and drug items were inventoried and secured in evidence. Since there is an active DFCS case involving a 1 years old having a large quantity of THC in her system The drug case was turned over to investigation and DFCS.

[End of Narrative]