Johnny Lorenzo Bolton was murdered in Smyrna, Ga., on December 17, 2020, while the police were serving a no-knock warrant.
Bolton, 49, was asleep on the sofa when the police entered the apartment. According to the Associated Press, Bolton immediately stood up and held his hands above his head. The police fatally shot him twice in the chest.
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and the Marietta Cobb Smyrna Organized Crime Task Force served the no-knock warrant on the residence looking for narcotics. The apartment was an unofficial boarding house where Bolton was staying on the couch. One bedroom was occupied by a woman and her teenage daughter. The second bedroom was also occupied by another woman.
The police were searching for a drug dealer who resided at another residence. Law enforcement had warrants on both residences and claimed that the apartment where Bolton was killed was in the name of the alleged drug dealer. Bolton’s name is not listed on the paperwork for either warrant. Witnesses inside the apartment said that after the police shot Bolton, they did not render aid but handcuffed him as he lay dying.
Two women and a man were also in the apartment and were arrested. The three were charged with gun possession after one gun was found in a bedroom and another in the kitchen. The man was also charged with the possession of narcotics after police found cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines in his backpack.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was investigating the case and released a statement after the shooting.
“Preliminary information indicates that on Thursday, December 17, 2020, at approximately 4:41 a.m., Marietta Cobb Smyrna (MCS) Organized Crime Task Force agents and Cobb County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team deputies, executed a narcotics search warrant at 505 Springbrook Trail SE, Smyrna, GA. During entry into the residence, a SWAT team member discharged his firearm and an occupant of the apartment was struck. The subject was transported to Wellstar Cobb Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The identification of the subject is pending next of kin notification. No officers were injured during the incident.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has since turned the case over to the Cobb County district attorney’s office. The district attorney’s office said they are still investigating and will present the case to a grand jury.
Bolton’s sister, Daphne Bolton, said that her big brother was a talented singer with a big heart. She wants to know why he was shot and for the officers involved to be arrested, fired and charged. Bolton also wants no-knock warrants to end once and for all.
Ms. Bolton said that she and her family have been quiet for months while the investigation was pending, but she is done waiting for answers.
“For almost six months, we gave them quiet,” she said. “That lets me know that’s not what gets a response. I want my brother’s name to ring beside Breonna Taylor’s. When they say Breonna Taylor, I want them to say Breonna Taylor and Johnny Lorenzo Bolton. I want them to be simultaneous.”
The family held a press conference asking for answers, including his son and his daughter. His daughter, Diamond Bolton, said that her father didn’t get a chance to meet his grandchild.
“They took that away from him,” she said.
