PANAMA CITY — State prosecutors are exploring the death penalty after filing an indictment for first-degree murder charges against the Pensacola man who allegedly confessed to the slaying of a Bay County businessman and two others, officials announced Wednesday.
The two-count indictment filed by the State Attorney’s Office accused Derrick Ray Thompson, 41, of premeditating the death of former Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputy and controversial local businessman Allen Johnson, 66, on July 21. Investigators found Johnson with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head and a spent .380 caliber casing beside his body at his Lynn Haven home. The indictment further claimed Thompson shot and killed Johnson during the commission of a felony robbery with a firearm.
The first-degree murder indictment could result in a maximum sentence of death if convicted as charged. A Death Review Committee, comprised of senior prosecuting attorneys, will review the case to determine if sufficient legal factors exist to warrant seeking the death penalty at trial. That decision will be made in the next few weeks.
Authorities have released evidence that indicated Thompson was motivated by a quest for prescription narcotics. Before fleeing the state to hide out in a Troy, Ala., hunting lodge where he once had installed electrical fixtures, Thompson used money and a cellphone he allegedly stole from Johnson to buy numerous prescription narcotics from someone in Panama City, according to investigators.
Sheriff Frank McKeithen knew Johnson personally from his time as a drug investigation agent but said the case should proceed as any other homicide prosecution.
“We take every homicide case seriously and hope Thompson will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
The 1st Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office also has charges pending against Thompson, and it has not yet been decided which circuit will try him first. Thompson also was a person of interest in the Santa Rosa County deaths of 60-year-old Steven Zackowski and 59-year-old Debra Zackowski, both of Milton.
Thompson was wanted on a warrant for grand theft of several items and a vehicle from the Zackowskis’ residence. Thompson previously had been hired to do some electrical work at the Zackowskis’ home, local authorities reported.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Greg Wilson and Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford presented the case to the grand jury. Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet ordered Thompson held without bond on both counts.