Pedestrian shot to death, apparently for crossing road too slowly

UNION SPRINGS, Ala. (WSFA) - He was shot dead because he was taking too long to cross the street. That’s the shocking motive a south Alabama police department says it’s found as part of a homicide investigation.

The victim, 29-year-old Johnarian Travez Allen, was shot eight times around 7:45 p.m. Thursday in Union Springs, a small town in Bullock County about 45 miles southeast of Montgomery.

Jeremiah Wesley Penn (L) has reportedly confessed to fatally shooting Johnarian Travez Allen... — Jeremiah Wesley Penn (L) has reportedly confessed to fatally shooting Johnarian Travez Allen (R). The apparent motive, according to Union Springs police, stems from Allen crossing a road too slowly.(Source: Union Springs Police Department)

Police responded to the scene at a gas station on Underwood Avenue. The shooter, later identified as Jeremiah Wesley Penn, 22, had already fled but law enforcement says he quickly sought out a sheriff’s deputy friend to whom he turned himself in.

That’s when Penn confessed, according to Union Springs Police Chief Danny Jackson.

A hearse arrives on the scene at a Union Springs homicide on the night of Aug. 27, 2020. — A hearse arrives on the scene at a Union Springs homicide on the night of Aug. 27, 2020.(Source: The Union Springs Herald)

Police determined Allen had gone to a store to purchase food but as he was walking across the road, the suspect apparently drove up and felt he wasn’t moving out of the roadway fast enough.

That’s when authorities say Penn got out of his vehicle and fired multiple shot, killing the man.

Penn is being held on a capital murder charge in the Bullock County Jail.

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