Douglas Walker|Muncie Star Press
MUNCIE, Ind.— The killings were separated by 15 months anda little more than two miles.
Deondre D. Johnson, 25, was walking on Brady Street, north of First Street, when he was fatally shot in the head on the early morning of June 7, 2019.
Ryan C. "Coco" Allen, 38, was seated in a vehicle parked near his home, in the 1600 block of EastKohlmetz Street, when he was repeatedly shot on the evening of Sept. 16, 2020.
There is little to suggest the killings of the Muncie men were in any way linked, but the two cases do have a major factor in common; few witnesses have come forward with information that could help lead to the arrests of those responsible.
The Johnson and Allen slayings make up the latest chapter in the Cold Case: Muncie project,a recurring Star Press seriesthat over the past dozen years has re-examined unsolved murders from the Muncie area.
A killing before dawn
Muncie police became aware of the slaying of Deondre Johnson about 6 a.m. — on that Friday morning 26 months ago — after a motorist reported seeing a man's body on Brady Street.
Because it was in an area, in the Industry neighborhood,that does not draw heavy traffic— especially in the pre-dawn hours— investigators assume there were perhaps no uninvolved eyewitnesses to the killing.
One person did report they heard what sounded like a gunshot in the area about 4:30 a.m. Other reports of gunfire nearby came about 1:30 a.m.
"We think (Johnson) was possibly lured out to that location, and shot once he was out there," Dustin Lee, a Muncie police investigator, said in a recent interview.
The shooting victim— a native of Decatur, Illinois who at the time of his death had two children and another on the way— did not reside near the scene of his shooting.
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Lee said it was likely "people that ran in (Johnson's)group would be the ones who had the best knowledge of the situation."
"We had some good information," the detective said. "We know a lot of the people who were indirectly involved. But we just don't have enough to tie it all together right now."
A mid-evening homicide
While the time and location of Deondre Johnson's slaying perhaps resulted in few witnesses, police believe that likely wasn't the case in last September's shooting death of Ryan "Coco" Allen.
The 38-year-old Muncie man was gunned down as he sat in a vehicle outside his home along East Kohlmetz Street, in the Whitely neighborhood, about 8:40 p.m. on a Wednesday.
At the time of that homicide, city police released almost no details.
"I'm comfortable saying there are some witnesses out there who definitely have first-hand knowledge (about Allen's death), but are probably terrified to give us that," detective Lee said recently.
Lee and Muncie police investigator Jami Brown said Allen had just returned home from one of his children's sporting events at the time he was shot.
"At least one person ran up, with a (hooded sweatshirt) up (over their head)" andopened fire, Lee said.
Reports indicated the gunman was a "a younger black male," the detective added.
"This case is kind of convoluted," Lee said. "We've had two or three different theories brought to us.
"It's hard-telling right now, with what we have to work with. ... There was a lot of effort put into that case."
Brown said investigators had not established a motive in the case.
"We rely on our witnesses," she said. "We weren't there. We can't create something that we don't have."
According to Brown, there were reports a friend of Allen was standing near the victim's car when the gunman began firing.
However, that man declined to cooperate with investigators, Brown said. He has since died of a drug overdose.
Both the Johnson and Allen homicides remain under active investigation.
Anyone with information on either slaying should call the Muncie Police Department's investigations division at 765-747-4867.
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Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
