Man Indicted For Murder In 1996 Tuscaloosa Cold Case

TUSCALOOSA, AL — An arrest has been made in the killing of a Tuscaloosa man outside of a bar in a case that has has been unsolved for nearly three decades.

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The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit says Thomas Terry Johnson, Jr., 49, has been indicted for the Oct. 13, 1996 murder of Joseph Todd Jowers, who was shot and killed while leaving Classics Lounge located on 37th Street.

Despite have some leads in the case, the investigation went cold for years. However, Captain Jack Kennedy, commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, said investigators for the past year had worked diligently, re-evaluated evidence, located numerous persons who were determined to be witnesses to the original case, and then presented their findings to a grand jury.

This lead to the evidence presented to the grand jury, which indicted Johnson.

Kennedy said Johnson was taken into custody Friday and booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where his bond is set at $75,000 bond.

As Patch previously reported, Jowers of 103 Hargrove Road East, was pronounced dead at the scene by Tuscaloosa Police.

According to a story written by reporter Wendy Reeves and published in the Tuscaloosa News the day after the shooting, Jowers was shot in the head while walking a girlfriend to her car in the parking lot of Classics Lounge at 613 37th Street between 2:10-2:15 a.m.

The former location of Classics Lounge is currently occupied by Crimson Bar.

Kennedy previously said Jowers was a popular fixture at the bar, teaching line dancing and a regularly singing karaoke.

According to the newspaper's account, the girlfriend "heard a pop" and turned to see Jowers on the ground near his car, roughly 40-50 feet away.

What's more, another witness in the parking lot informed police at the time of the shooting that they saw a white man wearing black clothing run behind the lounge immediately after the shot rang out.

The potential suspect was described to then-Homicide Unit Commander Capt. Mike Everett as wearing some type of covering on their head — "like a cap" — and was of average height and build.

Two days after the murder, the Tuscaloosa News confirmed that several people had been interviewed by investigators, which ultimately proved fruitless. In the week that followed, local media also reported that a handgun was recovered in the parking lot of the bar.

This is a developing story. Tuscaloosa Patch will have more information as it comes available.