Queens youth counselor Sheldon Johnson charged after dismembered body parts found in freezer
NEW YORK -- A Harlem man has been charged with murder after police say officers found dismembered body parts in his freezer.
Sheldon Johnson, 48, faced a judge Thursday night. He was remanded to jail without bail, and he's accused of dismembering a body. As to why, police are still trying to figure that out.
Surveillance footage shows the last image of Collin Small entering his Highbridge apartment on Tuesday, according his super.
A day later, Johnson was found inside Small's Summit Avenue apartment. Discovered with him was a torso, minus the head and arms. Cops took him into custody.
"The first tenant tells me that she heard two gunshots, that she came outside," building super Orlando Medina said.
Medina called the police for a welfare check on Small after two neighbors reported hearing gunshots from that sixth floor apartment.
The surveillance video tells part of the story. In the images, Johnson is seen with a large blue bin, cleaning supplies and even wearing a blonde wig.
"Coming in, coming out of the apartment with different articles of clothes, different wigs. It's weird, so that's why I called," Medina said.
Police say Johnson shot Small and then dismembered the body. A search of Johnson's Harlem apartment revealed the remainder of the body -- the arms and the head inside a freezer.
"There's nothing to say. There's no words to describe that," Medina said.
Johnson is no stranger to the law; he was sentenced for attempted murder and robbery, spending over 20 years in prison. Since his release, he was working as a counselor to help at-risk youth at the Queens public defender's office.
In February, he made an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast, saying, "When I got out, I made a decision that I was going to walk away and I didn't care about what the consequences was. And I said to myself, I've been doing bad for so long, I'm going to try to do something good. If all else fails, I could always go back to doing something bad."
Now, he's back in jail, facing charges of murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
We called the Queens Defenders office. We haven't heard back.
