Stringer man shot, killed in land dispute | Free News
A well-known Stringer man was shot and killed during a dispute over land, and the Jasper County man who is accused of gunning him down is behind bars.
Deondrick Duane Hardy, 45, was charged with murder and made his initial appearance in Jasper County Justice Court on Wednesday. He was joined by defense attorney Brad Oberhousuen of Ridgeland as special Judge Hulon West of Smith County set Hardy’s bond at $700,000.
Hardy is accused of shooting and killing 65-year-old Johnny Anderson, who was found next to his pickup on County Road 1628, a dead-end road in the Paulding Community. Anderson suffered multiple gunshot wounds, sources said.
“It was self-defense ... He was gonna get me,” Hardy said as he was being escorted back to jail from his court appearance.
Anderson did have a gun, but it was in a case inside the console of his pickup, a source with knowledge of the incident said. Another source said that Anderson was on a bulldozer doing work on a piece of land that he and Hardy had made a handshake agreement on after a recent sale, but Hardy decided he wanted to change the terms of the agreement and was there to confront Anderson about it.
A .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun that was believed to be the murder weapon was recovered, Sheriff Randy Johnson said.
“He was a good guy,” Johnson said of Anderson. “It was just senseless.”
Anderson worked in construction and trucking, but he was best known as an avid outdoorsman. That’s what most people noted as condolences poured in for the family.
“Definitely will miss hearing his hunting stories and dropping by the dealership to show us the latest gun he had bought,” Charles Waldrup posted. “He was truly such a good man.”
Taylor Parker Avera added: “Mr. Johnny was a great man and always willing to help! I sure will miss our talks about deer hunting and looking at trail camera pictures scoping out the big bucks ... This is how I want to remember him.”
Jasper County Justice Court Judge Marvin Jones recused himself from the case because he’s related to Anderson and Judge Sullivan Dukes was unavailable, according to a press release from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department. So Circuit Judge Stan Sorey initially set Hardy’s bond at $1 million on Tuesday, but Hardy made his initial appearance Wednesday before West, who set his bond at $700,000.
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