TROY, ALA. — The man wanted in connection with three homicides has been captured without incident in Alabama, authorities reported Tuesday.
Derrick Ray Thompson, 41, was captured without incident in Troy, Ala., early Tuesday, according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office. He was wanted on a warrant for the slaying of nightclub owner Allen Johnson and a person of interest in the Milton deaths of 60-year-old Steven Zackowski and 59-year-old Debra Zackowski.
More details are expected to be released at a Bay County Sheriff's Office press conference Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., but a broadcast report said the arrest happened about 5 a.m. on a county road by the Pike County Sheriff's Department and Troy Police Department tactical teams. He was armed and tried to the flee the residence where he was captured, according to the report from WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Ala.
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Below is an earlier version of this story:
LYNN HAVEN — Law enforcement were searching late Monday for a man they say is connected to the shooting death of a well-known Bay County nightclub owner and the weekend slaying of a couple in Santa Rosa County.
The body of former Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigator and controversial nightclub owner Allen Johnson, 67, was discovered with gunshot wounds in his Lynn Haven home Monday, BCSO reported.
Following the discovery, authorities issued a nationwide alert for Derrick Ray Thompson, 41, the primary suspect in the death of Johnson, who lived in a house on Wilson Avenue almost directly behind the Sheriff’s Office.
Thompson is wanted for questioning in connection with two Santa Rosa County shooting deaths, 60-year-old Steven Zackowski and 59-year-old Debra Zackowski, who were found dead Sunday in their Milton home.
Authorities were looking for a truck belonging to Johnson, which they believe Thompson is driving. The Florida State University vanity license plate on the truck, a silver, 4-door 2010 Toyota Tundra, is VY-015. The vehicle has a chrome brush guard. Thompson is described as a white male, 5 feet 6 inches, weighing about 225 pounds.
Anyone with information on the vehicle or Thompson is asked to contact the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at 850-747-4700 or CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS (8477). Authorities were advising extreme caution if the vehicle is seen.
“We do consider him to be armed and dangerous,” said Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen.
A rifle and a handgun were missing from the scene of Johnson’s death, according to BCSO officials.
BCSO was coordinating Monday night with U.S. Marshals and several state agencies searching for Thompson and Johnson’s stolen truck. Authorities said Thompson’s most recently listed address was in the Pensacola area.
Details from Johnson’s death were scarce Monday evening as BCSO concentrated its resources on the manhunt in Bay County, and crime scene units conducted a forensic analysis of the scene.
Johnson’s family discovered his body in his home Monday at about 1:45 p.m., according to BCSO reports. The family had not been able to reach Johnson by phone, became concerned and went to his home to check on him, but he never answered the door. Family members eventually busted down Johnson’s door to find him dead on the floor with gunshot wounds, deputies reported.
How much time elapsed between Johnson’s death and the discovery of his body was unclear, and the nature of Johnson’s wounds was withheld for investigative reasons, BCSO said. How Johnson and Thompson knew one another also was unclear Monday evening. BCSO only reported the two men had been acquaintances at one point.
“We’re still piecing a lot of things together,” McKeithen said.
Several of Johnson’s personal checks were taken from the home, authorities said. BCSO found a $500 check, written to Thompson and dated July 21, at the crime scene.
Johnson’s silver Tundra was missing from his home and a silver 2012 Ford F-150, which did not belong to Johnson, was on the property. BCSO identified it as the truck Santa Rosa County authorities connected to the two homicides in Milton, in both of which Thompson is sought as a “person of interest,” according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The Zackowskis were found dead from gunshot wounds in their Goliath Road mobile home Sunday. How long they’d been deceased before the discovery has not been made public. Santa Rosa County investigators developed Thompson as a person of interest fairly soon after the Zackowskis’ bodies were found.
A news release from the agency said he previously was wanted on charges of burglary, grand theft and fraud.
Johnson is most recently known in Bay County for his adult entertainment establishments such as the Toy Box and Show ‘n’ Tail, and his long-running battle with beach city and county officials over relocating the Show ‘n’ Tail after it was destroyed by fire in 2006.
Johnson owned Show ‘n’ Tail, a Panama City Beach topless club that burned down in 2006. His attempts to reopen the nightclub repeatedly were thwarted by a 1996 ordinance prohibiting sexually oriented businesses from operating within 1,500 feet of a tourist corridor.
Johnson filed a federal lawsuit challenging the county’s ordinance, which he dropped in the summer 2012. Instead, he found a PG-13 rated way to operate a saloon featuring dancing girls.
Last year, he opened Show ‘n’ Tail in Panama City Beach, hiring scantily-clad dancers who do not strip.
An earlier version of this story appears below:
PANAMA CITY — Authorities are seeking a man they say is connected to three slayings, including former Bay County sheriff's investigator and nightclub owner Allen Johnson.
Derrick Ray Thompson, 41, is wanted for questioning in connection with two Santa Rosa County slayings, 60-year-old Steven Zackowski and 59-year-old Debra Zackowski, who were found dead Sunday. On Monday afternoon, the Bay County Sherriff's Office said Thompson is suspected in the death of Johnson, who lived in a house on Wilson Avenue not far behind the Sheriff's Office.
Johnson was found dead in his home Monday afternoon.
Authorities are looking for Johnson's truck, which authorities said they believe Thompson is driving. Thompson's vehicle, which had been missing from the Santa Rosa crime scene, was found at Johnson's residence. The Florida State University vanity license plate of the truck Thompson is believed to be driving, a silver Toyota Tacoma, is VY015.
Deputies said Thompson is likely armed.
Johnson is most recently known in Bay County for his adult establishments like The Toy Box and Show 'n' Tail, and his long-running battle with beach city and county officials over relocating the Show 'n' Tail" after it was destroyed by fire. Johnson was found dead at his home Monday, deputies said.
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