Dallas Police
Thaddeous Green and Michael Mitchell were issued arrest warrants for capital murder in connection to the shooting of Joshua Brown, Dallas Police shared in a press conference on Tuesday, October 8. Joshua Brown, a witness in Amber Guyger’s murder trial, was shot and killed late Friday night, October 4, 2019, at a Dallas apartment complex. Police said that Brown was killed during a drug deal. A third suspect, Jacquerious Mitchell, was in police custody. Michael was arrested Tuesday night, but Thaddeous Green is still at large.
1. Thaddeous Green Is at Large & Michael Mitchell Was Arrested Tuesday Night
Dallas Police
Thaddeous Charles Green, 22, and Michael Diaz Mitchell, 32, are two of the three suspects in Joshua Brown’s murder and arrest warrants were issued for them on Tuesday. Another suspect was in custody, Jacquerious Mitchell, 20, at the time that the Dallas Police gave a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Thaddeous Green is suspected to be the one who shot Joshua Brown, according to testimony from Jacquerious Mitchell who is in custody. According to the arrest warrant, he is Jacquerious Mitchell’s cousin. Jacquerious is Michael Mitchell’s nephew, KLFY reported.
Police said Green is considered armed and dangerous. On Tuesday night, Michael Mitchell was arrested at a motel in Marksville, Louisiana, NBC News reported. According to KALB, he was arrested at the Deluxe Inn Motel. According to the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office, his arrest was a local arrest for possession of schedule 1 with an intent to distribute, and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Jacquerious Mitchell was taken to the hospital for treatment following an altercation and shooting on Friday night, according to the police. He remains hospitalized and is in police custody.
Jacquerious Mitchell originally gave them the name Demon Martin. According to the arrest warrant, the Rapides PAarrish Sheriff’s Department in Louisiana called the Dallas police and informed them that an anonymous individual told them Jacquerious, Michael, and another individual were suspected in shooting Joshua Brown during a “robbery gone bad.”
According to local news KALB, Thaddeous Green is awaiting trial for a 2016 burglary of a dwelling. He had a pretrial scheduled for this Wednesday. His only other prior was unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in 2015, a case that was later dismissed.
Michael Mitchell had one prior for simple battery and the case was dismissed in 2015. Jacquerious Mitchell did not have any local priors.
2. Police Said the Suspects Drove to Dallas from Lousiana to Purchase Drugs from Joshua Brown
Dallas Police
In a Dallas Police press conference, police said that all three suspects are from Alexandria, Louisiana and drove to Dallas to purchase drugs from Joshua Brown, according to testimony from Jacquerious Mitchell. Jacquerious told police that he did not know Joshua Brown, according to the arrest warrant for Thaddeous. He said that Green made all the arrangements to buy the marijuana and they rented a Kia to drive to Dallas.
Police said that according to Jacquerious Mitchell, once they were meeting with Brown, Green got out of the vehicle and had a conversation with Brown that escalated to a physical altercation.
Jacquerious said that he got out of the car to see what was happening, and said Joshua ordered him back into the car and shot him in the chest.
He said that while he was in the vehicle, he heard two more gunshots. Jacquerious said that Thaddeous shot Joshua twice.
According to the arrest warrant, Jacquerious said that Green, in a panic, ran back to the car and drove off with Brown’s handgun and black bookbag. He said he believed the bag had marijuana in it.
Michael Mitchell was the driver and dropped Green off at an unknown location and then took Jacquerious for treatment, Jacquerious told police. Jacquerious is now in police custody. Green and Michael Mitchell are still at large.
Green took Joshua’s backpack and his gun, Jacquerious Mitchell told police.
In the press conference, police said they received numerous tips and executed a search warrant, where they confiscated 12 pounds of marijuana, 149 grams of THC cartridges, and more than $4,000 in cash, from Joshua Brown’s home.
We received numerous tips that led us to execute a search warrant for Mr. Brown’s apartment. We confiscated 12 lbs. of marijuana, 149 grams of THC cartridges and $4,157 in cash. @ChiefHallDPD
The police ask for help capturing Thaddeous Green, who is still at large. You can read his arrest warrant here.
You can call Cenla Crime Stoppers at 318-443-STOP if you have information.
3. Joshua Brown Was Shot Twice in the Lower Body
A statement that Brown was shot in the mouth and head was not correct. Dallas police corrected the details and said he was shot multiple times in the lower portion of his body. During the press conference, they confirmed that he had been shot twice, including once in the spine traveling upward.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he and others would work to ensure a transparent investigation.
Dallas County, the City of Dallas and others will work to ensure a transparent and thorough investigation of the murder of Joshua Brown. Mr. Brown was not shot in the mouth or head but was shot more than one time. Many career professionals are hard at work on this case.
Regarding rumors about the shooting being connected to Amber Guyger’s trial, police said during the press conference: “I assure you that is simply not true.”
Attorney Lee Merritt, who is investigating the case for Joshua Brown’s family, said on Twitter: “DPD has made an arrest in the case involving the slaying of #JoshuaBrown. Chief Hall will hold a Press conf at 1PM CST. I continue to urge @DallasPD to recuse themselves from this investigation. The reliability of any arrest/prosecution will be undermined by their involvement.”
Dallas Police said on Twitter than any rumors about Brown’s death being related to Guyger’s trial are incorrect.
4. Joshua Brown Was Shot at Atera Apartments, About Five Miles from Where Botham Jean Was Shot
Incorrect rumors on social media initially indicated that Brown, who had been a witness in Amber Guyger’s trial, was shot at the same South Side Flats complex where Botham Jean was shot. But this report was not true. The map above shows the distance from South Side Flats, where Botham Jean was killed, to the apartments where Joshua Brown was killed.
According to NBC DFW, Brown was shot at 10:30 p.m. on Friday night, October 4, at the Atera apartments on the 4600 block of Cedar Springs Road. The shooting was in the vicinity of the Dallas North Tollway and Lemmon Avenue. WFAA confirmed the same location for Brown’s shooting.
Jean was shot at South Side Flats, according to reports by The Daily Beast, NBC DFW, and others. Jean was killed just about a year ago in September 2018. South Side Flats is located at 1210 S. Lamar St. in Dallas, Texas.
The two apartments are approximately five-and-a-half miles or 12 minutes apart if traffic is fairly light.
5. Attorney Lee Merritt Said that Brown’s Testimony Undermined Part of Guyger’s Defense. He Said Brown’s Family Wants the Dallas Police to Turn the Investigation Over to an Alternative Agency.
While testifying at Amber Guyger’s trial, Joshua Brown broke down and needed a recess before continuing his witness testimony.
In his testimony, Brown said he had met Botham Jean the day of his shooting because of a noise complaint. But he had heard Jean before. He said he heard him singing Gospel music and songs by Drake.
He said he heard about a noise complaint from the leasing office earlier that day at 2 p.m. and that was when he met Botham Jean for the first time, just before Jean was later killed. He said the complaint was strange because there had been no noise. He left later that night to watch a football game.
Attorney Lee Merritt was the one who first broke the news of Brown’s murder. He had spoken to an Assistant District Attorney in the Dallas District Attorney’s office who confirmed Brown’s identity to him before local news revealed his name. In a Facebook post, Merritt said that Brown provided key testimony that undermined Guyger’s defense.
After the suspects were announced, Merritt posted a statement from Joshua Brown’s family.
He writes that his office, on behalf of Joshua Brown’s family, “encourages the Dallas Police Department to turn over this murder investigation to an alternate investigative agency.”
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund made a similar request.
Joshua Brown attended the University of South Florida for college (after attending in Arizona) and studied interdisciplinary science, according to his witness testimony in Guyger’s trial.
While at USF, Brown was on the football team as a defensive back, WTSP reported. He played in eight games.
Sadly, Brown was the second 2012 USF teammate killed in a violent crime. Elkino Watson, defensive lineman, was stabbed and killed in September 2015, Tampa Bay Times reported.
READ NEXT: Joshua Brown’s Shooting: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know