‘He did not deserve that:’ Friends remember Gwinnett County manager killed in road rage shooting

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a road rage incident with a man on a bike ended with a restaurant manager’s murder.

Tonight, friends are remembering the victim.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was in Gwinnett County to find out how the manager’s co-workers looked up to him.

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One called him a father figure and her protector.

Jerome Johnson was the manager at Will Henry’s Tavern, a long-time fixture along Rockbridge Road.

And Monday night, a man mortally wounded him in the establishment’s parking lot — all over a bicycle collision.

“He was my protector. When he was here, I did not have to watch my back. He did,” Keri Kush said.

Kush worked for Jerome Johnson at Will Henry’s Tavern. He was her manager.

But she says he was so much more.

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He was a friend to her and her husband and to everyone else.

On Tuesday, people dropped by to put flowers outside the front of the tavern to pay their respects.

“I mean, he was like a dad to us. He watched us. He kept us safe, and it’s like, this is so senseless for that to happen. He has a family,” Kush said.

Channel 2 took video of the scene Monday as Gwinnett police investigated what they are calling a road rage incident.

Jonathan Hernandez is the man police say was riding his bicycle through the tavern’s parking lot when he bumped into Johnson’s car.

Instead of working it out, police say Hernandez pulled out a pistol and shot Johnson, who later died.

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Police caught Hernandez soon after, and say they have plenty of evidence against him.

“We do have some video footage and eyewitnesses in this case, and we’re debriefing them and gathering all that information now,” Cpl. William Wolfe said.

Kush says the tavern just held its annual employee Christmas party Sunday night, and Johnson’s parents were there having fun.

She says it’s just surreal that 24 hours later, her friend and protector is dead.

“He was a great guy, and he did not deserve that, and we will miss him terribly,” Kush said.

Police say they’ve charged Hernandez with assault and felony murder. He could make his first court appearance some time Wednesday.

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