JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Less than a day after making an arrest in Saturday’s shooting death of Joshua Delgado, Johnson City police say they know who shot him — and who was there with the shooter — but they still don’t know the motive.
“We’re still trying to get to those parts,” Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) Captain Eric Dougherty told News Channel 11 Thursday afternoon. Police arrested Moziah McKinney, 20, and charged him with second-degree murder in 23-year-old Delgado’s death.
He was arraigned Thursday afternoon and faces a preliminary hearing on May 25.
Dougherty said the investigation led by Bradlee Clark has found that another male was with McKinney when he allegedly shot Delgado multiple times in front of 548 Washington Avenue in the Carver Apartments between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Delgado made it across Washington Avenue and to the back porch of another apartment before collapsing. Police said he wasn’t noticed until after 10 a.m. Saturday.
Surveillance video provided by Johnson City Housing Authority, which owns and manages Carver, was provided and has aided the JCPD investigation, Dougherty said.
While they don’t know what role if any was played by the other person who was present outside during the shooting, “he is definitely a person of interest, we know who he is and we’re hoping to speak with him very soon.”
Dougherty said police still don’t know whether McKinney and Delgado were friends, associates or even acquaintances. He said McKinney could potentially face more charges depending on what else the investigation reveals.
While McKinney’s bond on the murder charge is $100,000, he is being held without bond because of failing to appear on two separate court cases.
Records in one of those cases say he was allegedly involved in an aggravated burglary at Monarch Apartments on Aug. 24, 2022.
An affidavit in that case says that a resident of building four at Monarch returned to his apartment around 1 p.m. that day and saw three men leaving his apartment, which he reported he hadn’t been able to lock ” due to not receiving keys from management.”
The victim said the men were carrying bags containing some of his clothes along with a backpack. His PlayStation was missing, along with clothing that all told was worth about $1,700, and his room was ransacked and his TV broken. The victim said he had seen the three in passing at parties, and he later identified two of them, including McKinney, in a photo lineup.
McKinney’s charges of aggravated burglary and theft were submitted to the Washington County Grand Jury, which indicted him on March 6. Court records show he had an appearance hearing in that case scheduled for April 3, when a continuance was granted. He’s scheduled to be arraigned July 7 in the burglary and theft case.
Dougherty said Clark told Delgado’s family about the arrest Wednesday night and was able to speak to them for the first time since the shooting.
He also said community members have provided some help in the investigation. “That’s greatly appreciated but the more help we get the better the investigation will be,” he said.
