Saleem Smith Charged With Murder Of Jeremy Johnson

Norristown police officers found Smith on the sidewalk outside of an apartment building at 360 E. Marshall Street after he placed a 911 call at 4:08 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9., the district attorney's office said. A 9mm semiautomatic handgun was found lying on the floor of the building's entryway in plain view.

As police investigated inside the building, they found the door to an apartment on the second floor open and the body of Jeremy Johnson, 32, the apartment's owner, inside, according to the criminal complaint. Johnson had an obvious gunshot wound to his chest.

Three fired 9mm cartridge casings from the semiautomatic pistol were found near Johnson's body along with a machete and its sheath, police wrote in court documents.

The Norristown Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau also found two unfired 9mm rounds at the scene, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators reviewed Ring camera surveillance footage from the apartment's entryway which showed Smith and Johnson going in and out of Johnson’s apartment several times beginning at 1:30 a.m., the criminal complaint states. In footage from 4:07 a.m., Smith can be seen in the hallway outside of the apartment holding a firearm before calling 911.

After being arrested, Smith told police that he had defended himself and then placed the 911 call to report the shooting, police documents state. He explained to police that he and Johnson were doing drugs when the shooting happened.

"He went to the dark side, didn't say anything but was just moving, so I defended myself," Smith said, according to the criminal complaint.

Smith was charged with:

• First-Degree Murder.
• Third-Degree Murder.
• Person Not to Possess a Firearm.
• Carrying a Firearm Without a License.
• Possessing an Instrument of Crime.

He is awaiting arraignment at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility with no bail set. Bail is not available for First-Degree Murder charges, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Smith has "an extensive criminal history dating back to 2002," the criminal complaint states. He was arrested and charged with Murder by the Philadelphia Police Department in 2011. Smith pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault related to the original murder charge and was sentenced to three to seven years in a state correctional facility.

He's also had "numerous" drug violations over the years since 2002, according to the criminal complaint.

Daily Voice reviewed court information from Smith's past dockets and confirmed that accuracy of the prior charges listed in the criminal complaint.

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