Dallas man arrested in fatal shooting, claims victim assaulted girlfriend

What began as a claim of revenge for an alleged sexual assault ended with Sylvester Adzati dead and Nehemiah Isaiah Johnson facing a murder charge in Oak Cliff.

Dallas police responded around 5:24 p.m. on April 24 to 3015 East Ledbetter Drive, where officers found Adzati dead at the scene. Investigators later said Johnson, 19, ran from officers and was found hiding in a doghouse. Police also recovered a shirt that matched the suspect description and a phone near the shooting location.

The affidavit says Johnson told police that Adzati had put a weapon to his girlfriend’s head, forced sexual contact, threatened her and kept her from leaving. Johnson said he learned about the assault from someone else, then heard gunshots. He also told police he cried after hearing what happened and said he did not know who actually fired the shots.

That account is now at the center of a homicide case built on competing versions of the same night. Police said surveillance video showed Johnson lingering in the area before the shooting and leaving afterward, evidence that investigators appear to weigh against his claim that he was simply reacting to events already in motion. Johnson was first arrested for evading arrest, then later charged with murder. Dallas County records show he was booked on May 8, 2026.

The victim was later identified as Sylvester Elom Adzati, 20. A fundraising page created April 26 by Stella Adzati sought help with funeral costs, underscoring the family’s loss while the case moved through Dallas County’s system.

Johnson’s girlfriend told police the alleged assault happened two days earlier and said she did not file a report because she felt threatened. That detail gives the case its sharpest edge: investigators are left sorting out not only what happened at the apartment complex, but whether Johnson believed he was avenging an assault, whether he acted in self-defense, or whether the killing was something else entirely.

The broader Dallas context matters too. Dallas police now track crime and arrest data through daily dashboards, including family-violence reporting, while the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney’s Office Family Violence Division handles intimate-partner cases that can range from assault to murder. Texas advocacy groups note that protective-order law has expanded to cover dating violence and sexual assault survivors, a reminder of how often fear keeps alleged abuse from being reported before violence escalates.