A Susquehanna County man has been charged with shooting his uncle and two friends to death Monday in Great Bend Township, according to state police.
Garrett Austin Johnson, 29, of Great Bend Township, had to be Tasered and sedated when troopers took him into custody, police said.
"I killed everyone I love," Johnson told them, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police accused Johnson of killing:
● Philip Johnson, 61, of Hallstead.
● Kevin Igo, 26, of Susquehanna.
● Frank Talarico Jr., 31, of Binghamton, N.Y., formerly of Florida.
Acting Susquehanna County Coroner Jessica Chiaramonte confirmed the names and ages of the deceased and said autopsies are scheduled to be performed on Wednesday.
Shirtless Johnson shouted, waved rifle in road
Johnson's parents described him as combative and erratic Monday after taking his vehicle to be inspected and being refused because garage staff said his registration and vehicle identification number did not match, troopers said.
According to the arrest affidavit:
Troopers received a call from a witness, Carrie Miller, shortly after 6 p.m. Monday. She reported a shirtless man in dark gym shorts standing in the middle of Baptist Hill Road, Great Bend Township, screaming.
Police received a second call from Adam Johnson, "who stated he had three bodies at his residence" and his son was seen running down the street with an AR-15 style rifle.
Adam Johnson told troopers he confronted his son and took away the gun.
When troopers arrived, they saw a man matching the description given by Miller running toward their patrol vehicles. The man, identified as Garrett Johnson, jumped on the hood of one patrol vehicle.
Johnson resisted arrest and was Tasered. He continued to resist and an EMS crew was called to sedate him.
Following Johnson's statement about killing people, troopers went to his home at 1208 Baptist Hill, Road. They found two men dead on the back porch and one a short distance away on the lawn, all with gunshot wounds, the affidavit states.
Parents describe confrontation, finding bodies
Police interviewed the alleged shooter's parents, Adam and Nancy Johnson.
Nancy Johnson told troopers her son dropped his vehicle off at Marv's Service Center in Great Bend Township around noon for an inspection, the affidavit states.
After Garrett Johnson was told the inspection could not be completed, his parents left home around 5 p.m. to retrieve the vehicle.
Troopers said Adam Johnson told them he had been at home with his wife, son, brother and his son's friends, Talerico and Igo, before they left to retrieve the car from Marv's Service Center.
Adam Johnson described turning into Baptist Hill Road on the way home, seeing his son standing in the road with no shirt and no shoes.
"He stopped the vehicle and tried to talk to him, however he was screaming and wasn't making any sense," the affidavit states.
On the way home, Nancy Johnson drove behind her husband who drove his son's car.
When they turned onto Baptist Hill Road, she observed a man she believed was her son pushing his vehicle from behind and "acting very erratic."
Adam Johnson said his son pounded the trunk of the vehicle he was pushing and continued screaming. His son punched him in the face, he said.
When Nancy Johnson got out of her car to ask what was happening, her son punched her in the face, she told troopers.
Nancy Johnson said she walked back to her vehicle and began driving toward home when she saw her son's rifle lying in the road. She retrieved the rifle and continued heading home.
Her husband arrived shortly afterward. Together, they walked to the back deck, where they saw two dead men, including Adam Johnson's brother Phillip.
Nancy Johnson told troopers she ran back to the vehicle, grabbed the rifle and hid it in the basement in case her son returned.
Investigators recovered the rifle.
'He already knew he was [expletive]'
Troopers said they attempted to interview Garrett Johnson at the State Police Gibson Barracks at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday.
"I then stated to Johnson that I would read him his Miranda warnings, and he stated he already knew he was [expletive]," Trooper John Petroshuk wrote in the affidavit.
Johnson invoked the right to a lawyer, and the interview ended, Petroshuk wrote.
Johnson was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jodi L. Cordner on three counts of criminal homicide, as well as simple assault, resisting arrest and recklessly endangering another person.
He was committed to the Lackawanna County Prison without bail to await further proceedings in the case.
