Man accused of killing Charlotte mother, 2 young kids, found in ‘lawless’ area of California
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A California journalist says an area in Imperial County known as “Slab City” near the “Second Guardshack,” the place where authorities say Charlotte murder suspect Benjamin Joseph Taylor was found hiding near the Mexico border, is known for lawlessness.
“They don’t want to be found, and they’re living off the grid and they’re dangerous, they’re armed, and we constantly hear about situations where people, they have explosives and there’s drugs and there’s labs, meth labs, and there’s things like that happening out there, so this is a pretty hairy place,” said journalist Richard Montenegro Brown.
Markayla Johnson and her children, 4-year-old Miracle Johnson and 7-month-old Messiah Johnson, were found dead in an apartment complex on Orchard Trace Lane in Charlotte on Friday.
Police arrested Taylor, Markayla’s boyfriend, on Saturday in California.
He’s facing charges, accused of killing Markayla, Miracle, and Messiah.
Newly released search warrants say Johnson left Myrtle Beach this past fall to come to Charlotte and live with a man she met online.
Court documents reveal that back in November, Johnson’s family came to Charlotte from Myrtle Beach to take her and the kids back with them.
They suspected Johnson was high on drugs and caring for the children when they picked her up.
The search warrants also say that in January, Johnson returned to Charlotte with the kids, and the family hadn’t spoken with her since around January 20 other than text messages that seemed out of the ordinary for how Johnson would typically communicate.
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Montenegro Brown says he’s surprised that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police knew where to look for Taylor, but not surprised if it turns out someone in Slab City turned him in.
“You don’t want that kind of heat and if you’re trying to not be messed with and you’re trying to live this kind of life of not being bothered, you’re going to try to get that thorn out of your side, and if you know who this guy is and if you’ve seen him, you probably are going to turn on him at some point,” said Montenegro Brown.
A sheriff’s official in California says he’s unaware of Taylor having any court hearings so far and none coming up, so it’s unclear when he’ll be brought back to North Carolina to face three murder charges.
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