Grand jury to hear State Line, Mississippi triple murder case

STATE LINE, Miss. (WKRG) — Drexler Johnson, 37, the State Line, Mississippi, triple murder suspect, on Tuesday was in court, where the case was bound over to a grand jury.

On Tuesday, April 22, a judge in Greene County found probable cause and decided to send the case to a grand jury.

Johnson was initially arrested in connection with the New Year’s Day crime on Jan. 9, but was charged with accessory after the fact and conspiracy to commit a crime.

On March 28, Johnson’s charges were upgraded to three counts of capital murder and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Johnson is accused of killing Lester Campbell, Rhonda Denson, and Dirk Jason Thornton at a Clark’s Exxon gas station on Saint Peter Street during a robbery.

A Pascagoula Police Department investigator testified in court that 9-mm shell casings found at Johnson’s home matched the shell casings from the crime scene.

A witness also took that stand Tuesday, saying that Johnson had confessed to the crime and had talked about hiding the gun.

During a search of Johnson’s phone, investigators found photos of an extended magazine that was used for the shooting, along with pictures taken months before the incident of the escape route the suspect allegedly took.

Johnson allegedly took a victim’s car from the scene, and it was found 4 miles from the gas station, 3 miles from Johnson’s home.

Denson was a clerk at the gas station, Campbell was Denson’s boyfriend and had just dropped her off for work, and Thornton was a customer of the store when the shooting happened around 6 a.m.

Johnson has denied the crimes twice to law enforcement.