New England’s Unsolved: Dreshaun Johnson

On April 8, 2022, the sound of gunfire shattered the night in Roslindale. At the Alfa gas station on Washington Street, two people were hit. One was rushed to the hospital, but another, 23-year-old Dreshaun Johnson, was shot dead.

“My mom called me and told me that she heard there was a shooting in Roslindale,” Dreshaun’s sister, Anasia Smith told me. “She said she was headed to the gas station, and people were saying that it was Dre.”

Anasia headed straight to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, thinking that’s where EMTs had taken the survivor. Instead, a nurse delivered devastating news to her.

“She came back and said, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not him.’ And that’s what I knew that he was gone,” Anasia remembers.

At the time of his death, Dreshaun Johnson was looking for work in construction. The day before his murder, Dreshaun had a promising interview with the retailer, AutoZone. Anasia remembers how much her brother loved sports, especially basketball.

“People just gravitated towards him. He loved sports. He loved to make music. He loved to spend time with his family. Just really, like a happy-go-lucky guy,” Anasia said.

Anasia tells me Dreshaun had an arrest for a gun and drug violation, making it difficult for him to find work. But she says, with the family’s help, Dreshaun was determined to break free of the pull of the streets; he didn’t want to go back to jail.

“That was enough for him, for him to say, ‘you know what? I don’t want to go down this road. Definitely got to get myself together,’” Anasia said.

On the night of April 8th, Dreshaun was in a car with friends when the driver noticed someone was following them. The driver pulled into the gas station.

“My brother tried to get out of the car, to run,” Anasia said. “He got shot in his head.”

“Did you get the chance to say goodbye to him?” I asked.

“No,” Anasia said.

Anasia believes the motive for the deadly shooting had something to do with the beef between two groups over a local music video.

“I don’t believe my brother was a part of the beef,” Anasia explained. “He was affiliated with the people that I guess started the beef. They, you know, those were his friends. So he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Two years later, Anasia Smith holds close the few items she has to remember her brother.

She is still looking for justice for Dreshaun.

“What do you want people to know about your brother?” I asked.

“Dreshaun was not a gangbanger,” Anasia said. “Dreshaun never shot no one. Never stabbed no one. He didn’t hurt anyone. That wasn’t what he was about. Dreshaun was the kind of person that would give his last to anybody that needed help. So if anybody knows anything. I’m begging, please just come forward.”

If you have any information about the murder of Dreshaun Johnson, call Boston Police Crimestoppers at 1.800.494.TIPS

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