3 suspects in 'Smokey Bones homicide' appear in court
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Three men including two Fort Bragg soldiers accused in a homicide that happened outside a Fayetteville restaurant parking lot earlier this month went before a judge Monday afternoon.
The men are 20-year-old Ferris Brown, 19-year-old Javier Rashad Johnson, and 19-year-old Daivon Tahjai Chambers.
Ferris Brown is with the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment and Javier Johnson is with the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
The three are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in the shooting death of 32-year-old Jonathan Goodman and 18-year-old Dareon Cook.
Goodman's family was in court Monday afternoon. They watched intently as a judge announced no bond for the three men accused of his murder.
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"We are hurting because we just lost our son and will never be able to see him again," said his father, David Goodman.
Police said Chambers, Johnson and Brown originally planned to rob the victims. Instead, the two were found shot execution-style inside a car at Smokey Bones restaurant on September 5.
Cook was pronounced dead at the scene but Goodman, of Goldsboro, died two days later from his injuries.
"Long story short, this shouldn't have happened. At the end of the day, we know what kind of person our son was. He really cared about individuals and about people," said Goodman's father.
After the first appearance, Goodman's family flipped through pages of a photo album they put together in their loved one's memory. They told ABC11 that the idea of their son gunned down by those sworn to defend and protect puzzles them.
"I really don't understand why that had to happen especially if these soldiers had something steady. When you're in the military, you make a career out of it. You can really go places," Goodman said.
Now it seems the soldiers will go "nowhere fast."
With bond denied, a judge stressed to the three suspects that their charges carry a maximum sentence of the death penalty. A sentence that District Attorney Billy West said is an option given the severity of the case.
"Anytime you have a violent crime such as this, a double homicide, the death penalty is an option. We're reviewing the details of the investigation and will make that assessment moving forward," West said.
For the Goodman family, life in prison is justice enough. The three suspects are due back in court for a probable cause hearing October 5.
