Man accused of killing industrial worker robbed him, stole his credit card: JSO

Payne Johnson was arrest March 1 in South Carolina in connection to December fatal shooting (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The result of a man being shot and killed at Tallyrand business on Dec. 4 was due to a robbery, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Payne Johnson Jr., 70, is accused of fatally shooting 67-year-old Philip Hetzner. According to an arrest warrant obtained by News4JAX, Johnson was hanging outside the entrance to Hetzner’s job.

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Police believe Johnson was in the area because he had a background working in the concrete industry, according to the report.

The report said Johnson was on the phone for 40 minutes that morning and called his fiancé to say he’d be right home. He was caught on surveillance on Wigmore Street.

Johnson obtained Hetzner’s debit card and unsuccessfully tried at least five times to access his account, the report said. All the transactions declined. JSO said Johnson was caught on camera at two convenience stores, which were about ten miles from where Hetzner was killed.

He then went to a pawn shop, where he was also caught on video.

That same day, the report said, he drove to Port Wentworth, Georgia and stopped at a gas station to make a purchase with another card. It’s unclear if it was his own car or if he tried to use a different card of Hetzner’s.

Johnson’s fiancé filed a missing persons report on Dec. 5 and he was located in South Carolina on Dec. 7.

Johnson has an extensive criminal history. He was convicted of robbery, assault, aggravated assault, burglary, receiving stolen good and counterfeiting.

He’s also been in and out of prison five times in Georgia and was last released in 2007.


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