Who is Sheldon Johnson? Joe Rogan guest arrested after severed head is found in apartment freezer

A former convict and a current criminal justice reform activist, Sheldon Johnson, who recently appeared in Joe Rogan's podcast, was arrested on murder charges on Thursday, March 7, 2024, after a severed head was found in his Bronx apartment freezer.

According to NBC, police were called to Summit Avenue in Highbridge on Tuesday, March 5, after neighbors overheard gunshots overnight.

Surveillance footage from the building reportedly also showed Johnson coming in and out of the apartment in different outfits, including a blonde wig.

Upon arrival, responding officers reportedly found the victim’s torso and foot in a blue bin. A decapitated head with a bullet wound, a severed arm, legs and other foot were reportedly found inside a freezer.

The victim was identified as 44-year-old Collin Small, who was incarcerated in the same Sing Sing Correctional Facility as Johnson, who served 25 years for a 1997 robbery before he was released in May 2023.

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Sheldon Johnson worked as a youth counselor at Queens Defenders office

The incident comes a month after Sheldon Johnson appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast for an episode titled “Sentenced to 50 Years Sheldon Johnson Decided to Turn His Life Around.”

In the podcast, Johnson talked about working with the Queens Defenders office, as a youth counselor to help other kids detach themselves from gang life. At the time, Johson said:

“Prison does two things to you: It brings out the best or it brings out the worst."

According to NBC, Johnson, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison for attempted murder when he was a high-ranking member of the Bloods gang, served 25 years before he was released last year.

In the podcast, Jonson, detailing the crime, said he robbed someone at gunpoint and assaulted them to steal their jewellery.

In the podcast, Johnson's lawyer, Josh Dubin, said his client, was unfairly sentenced to two decades for a crime that left his victims with only "two stitches."

New York Daily News reported, that just before he was sentenced for the robbery, the suspect also served over nine months under the name Thomas Smalls for criminal possession of stolen property in 1997.

In the Joe Rogan Podcast, Johnson revealed “I’m also a product of intergenerational incarceration. ” He added:

“My father was incarcerated when I was young. I was incarcerated. My grandfather was incarcerated. My great-grandfather was a slave.”

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Sheldon Johnson's father speaks out following son's arrest

Shortly after Sheldon Johnson’s arrest, his father, Sheldon Johnson Sr., 73, told the Daily News he was shocked that his son was charged with murder as he believed he had turned his life around after getting his GED from prison when he was incarcerated.

“I’m surprised and shocked. I thought he did well in prison. He studied. I was happy he got out of jail. I thought he had been reformed.”

The suspect’s father, who is deaf, signaled Thursday through an American Sign Language interpreter, saying, his son, who was selling drugs on the streets of Harlem when he was about 17 years old, had recently told him he was doing well working as a client advocate for Queens Defenders.

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Sheldon Johnson's teen son was arrested in 2008 over the death of Columbia University graduate student

The outlet reported, that in 2008, the suspect’s 14-year-old son, also named Sheldon Johnson, attacked 24-year-old Columbia University graduate student Mingui Yu near the corner of Broadway and W. 122nd St. in Morningside Heights, punching her several times in the face before she fled into the traffic and was killed by a passing SUV.

The teen was reportedly charged with manslaughter and spent 18 months in a juvenile detention boot camp.

The New York Post, citing the neighbors, reported the victim pleaded with Johnson for his life before they heard gunshots in the apartment. According to NBC, while being led out in handcuffs, Johnson shouted to reporters, saying he was innocent.