Man charged with livestreaming attack on DCS case worker in Mesa

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – A man is in custody accused of assaulting an Arizona Department of Child Safety caseworker and livestreaming it on social media.

Mesa authorities say 32-year-old De'Andre Terrell Johnson was arrested for the crime earlier this week.

On Monday, Mesa police received several 911 calls from witnesses reporting that Johnson was choking another man in the lobby of the Mesa Tower near Alma School Road and Southern Avenue. The building houses a branch of the Child Safety Department.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim lying on the ground with “obvious injuries” to his face, police said. Witnesses said Johnson choked the victim twice.

According to court documents, the victim was a child safety caseworker who worked on a case involving Johnson's daughter.

According to authorities, Johnson recorded the meeting with the caseworker and livestreamed it on Facebook. Investigators called the recording “extremely graphic” and clear and said Johnson was “very identifiable” in the livestream.

According to court documents, the video shows the two men discussing the case when the victim walked away at the end of the meeting. Suddenly, Johnson wraps his arms around the victim's neck, holds him in a chokehold and tells him several times: “You're a dead man.”

According to investigators, the victim was in a chokehold for two minutes and 30 seconds.

Mesa investigators say during this time the victim can be seen on camera with his arm muscles bulging, drooling and tense. Several bystanders asked Johnson to let the victim go. When the victim was unconscious, Johnson released him and let him fall face down on the tile.

Johnson reportedly stands over the officer until he begins to move slightly. Then he says, “Are you still breathing?” and “he’s still breathing, I didn’t make it.” [expletive] Period.” Court documents say Johnson then put his arm around the victim's neck again while bystanders yelled at him to let the man go.

An onlooker told Johnson: “You've made your point,” to which he replied, “No, I haven't,” before leaning over the victim. Then he got up, turned off the live stream and left.

Authorities tracked Johnson's vehicle to Scottsdale, near McDowell and Scottsdale streets, and stopped him. However, Johnson refused to stop and sped away from police.

Mesa detectives attempted to attack Johnson's vehicle with a grab, but he continued driving and destroyed the grab net. The officers attempted several maneuvers in the pits and eventually took Johnson into custody.

Authorities interviewed the victim, who said he had spoken to Johnson about his daughter a week earlier. In this conversation he is said to have told the clerk: “I came here to kill you; “You’re lucky my daughter vouched for you.” In this case, the clerk was able to reassure Johnson.

On the day of the attack, the two men agreed to meet to discuss services available to Johnson. According to court documents, the victim felt “aggressive” and tried to calm him down. However, as Johnson grabbed him and choked him, the victim said, “He just wants to kill me.” The victim said there was “no other reason” for Johnson's behavior.

Investigators spoke with the victim's doctor, who said his injuries were “absolutely serious, he almost died,” court documents say.

Johnson was charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful escape.

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