Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510230063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Alesha Johnson's family wants to hear from the judge who declined to put Larry Mack in jail two days before he killed her and himself.
Members of the Northwest Roanoke family say they can't understand why no one could see the tragedy unfolding, especially after Mack was arrested Oct. 15 for shooting into an occupied vehicle.
"Clearly, this man is capable of murder," said Angela Johnson, Alesha's older sister.
Johnson said they want to know why the judge decided Mack wasn't dangerous enough to be put in jail. They want to hear from him personally, she said, not through the news media.
Maybe he can tell them why their sister and daughter is dead, Johnson said.
Roanoke General District Judge William Broadhurst, who on Tuesday denied a request by a prosecutor to revoke Mack's bond, was reached at his home Saturday night.
Broadhurst said he had not been aware of the stalking charge pending against Mack in Juvenile and Domestic Court. Even had he known, he probably couldn't have revoked Mack's bond Tuesday, he said.
State law requires the prosecution to give "reasonable notice to the defendant" that a judge will be asked to revoke bond, he said. He scheduled a hearing for Friday to allow Mack time to prepare.
Court records show over the past two weeks that Mack was becoming increasingly volatile. Each time he appeared before a magistrate, Mack was released on unsecured bonds, which did not require him to post any money.
This chain of events frustrates the Johnson family.
"You try not to take matters into your own hands," said Angela Johnson. She said the family thought Mack would cool off in jail and leave Alesha alone.
Despite the charges filed against him, Mack continued to stalk her sister, Angela Johnson said.
"Larry was Alesha's shadow," she said. The family said neighbors reported seeing Mack asleep in his car outside their apartment or waiting on their front steps.
Angela Johnson said Mack often showed up at Friendship Manor, where Alesha worked as a certified nursing assistant, and stood in the lobby crying.
Sylvia McCollum, Alesha's mother, said Mack told her the relationship "would be an O.J.," referring to the O.J. Simpson case.
Angela Johnson said the family tried to help Mack and encouraged him when he said he was getting counseling every Monday night.
``He told me, `I just want someone to hear me out,''' Angela Johnson said. He would promise to give Alesha some space, she said, but then be back the next day.
"He would talk to you like nothing was going on," she said.
They thought going to the police was the right thing to do, Johnson said, because Alesha couldn't leave the house without Mack following her.
Though Alesha was afraid, "she said she still had her life to live," Angela Johnson said. In the last week, her sister started going out alone again, making short trips to the store.
It was while on such a trip that Mack caught up to Alesha Johnson.
Angela Johnson said she last saw Alesha, asleep, about 9 a.m. Thursday. Both sisters worked at night and slept during the day.
When Angela Johnson awakened, Alesha had taken her car, which wasn't unusual, she said.
The family started to worry, though, when Alesha hadn't returned by 3:30 p.m. to baby-sit her niece. They started looking for her.
They never found her. In fact, they didn't find the car until 3 a.m. Friday, parked at the Peters Creek Laundromat, three miles from the Valleypointe Corporate Center in Roanoke County, where police believe Mack shot her.
McCollum said an employee of the laundry told her he found some clothes and tennis shoes left unattended. The items later disappeared, but she thinks her daughter might have been there washing her work uniform.
Police found Alesha clutching the car's keys in one hand and a cigarette lighter in the other, McCollum said.
William Johnson Jr., Alesha's older brother, said Mack stopped by his house Tuesday.
He said they played video games and talked about Mack's relationship with Alesha.
William Johnson said he often talked to Mack as a brother, and this time he told Mack to just let Alesha go.
He said Mack admitted he needed help, but that he was having trouble dealing with the breakup and knew he might be facing time in jail.
``He told me, `I love your sister so much, I just don't know what to do,''' William Johnson said.
Angela Johnson's boyfriend, Robert Pendergrass, said putting Mack in jail could have saved two lives.
"The system failed [Mack] and Alesha," Pendergrass said. "He needed help, too. He didn't need to die, either."
Staff writers Diane Struzzi and John Griessmayer contributed information to this story.
Keywords:
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by CNB