Facebook Picture of $5,000 Leads to Fenton Township Robbery, Shooting

Three men broke into a Fenton Township home seeking $5,000 that was posted in a picture on Facebook.

The Fenton Township family is shocked after three men entered the home on the 13000 block of Linden Road Saturday and shot resident Robert Johnson in the back and leg after demanding the money and tearing apart boxes looking for it.

Randy Johnson said his son Robert Johnson, 23, was alone in the home around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night when men broke in through the back door and demanded money. Randy Johnson said several shots were fired, including two that struck his son in the back and his leg and three shots that struck his dog.

Both are back home recovering after receiving treatment.

Randy Johnson said his son posted a picture of $5,000 in a box on Facebook and the men asked him where the money was. They then started fighting over it themselves. Robert Johnson fled the home and went to a neighbor for help.

Randy said the men ripped down the back gate and came in through the back door of the home, before ransacking the house and taking the $5,000.

“They woke him up and hit him in the head with a gun,” Johnson said. “They asked him for the money and shot him twice. There were shells everywhere.”

Blood was still visible from the home’s front door Sunday morning and there were bullet holes in the back gate as well as the back door. Randy Johnson said there was still blood in the house as well. He said Genesee County police officers were at the house from around 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. He said he stayed at a neighbor’s home, but was unable to get any sleep.

Randy Johnson said he doesn’t know why his son posted the picture of the money on Facebook and advised him to take it down. He didn't say whether his son knew the men.

“He’s very mad,” Randy said of his son.

Randy, his wife, and their son Robert have lived in the home for about a year after moving from Flint. Randy said he never expected anything like this incident to happen in the Fenton Township area.

"They are all good people around here," Randy Johnson said.

Linden Police responded to the shooting, which was near the city limits, and confirmed the incident, but deferred all questions to the Genesee County Sheriff's Department. An officer with the Genesee County Sherriff's Department declined to comment Sunday afternoon.