Suspect In Woman's Slaying Gets Prison For Probation Violation

The man investigators are calling the prime suspect in the disappearance and slaying of Jennifer Denise Johnson was sentenced today to 13 months in prison for violating his probation on an unrelated drug charge.

Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Daniel Perry sentenced Vincent George Brown Jr., 38, after Brown admitted to failing to report to his probation officer July 2. Brown was Johnson's ex-boyfriend and the father of her daughter, Je'Neiyce, 2.

Johnson's body was found in a vacant house in Lakeland on Nov. 18. Relatives had reported Johnson missing three days earlier after she did not appear in time for her daughter's birthday party.

Authorities are investigating whether Brown is connected to her death. He has not been charged in the slaying. Police are calling him the prime suspect.

"We are still piecing together the timeline and what happened to Jennifer Johnson," said Laura McElroy, Tampa Police Department spokeswoman.

Johnson was seen arguing with Brown at 11 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Apollo Club, 5110 N. 40th St., police said. Authorities said today that Johnson and Brown went to his parent's house in Tampa at 3 a.m. Nov. 15.

Tampa police say Brown was thought to be driving Johnson's black, 1996 Infiniti I-30 in the Orlando and Altamonte Springs area in the early morning hours of Nov. 15. They are asking anyone who saw him or the victim's vehicle in those areas to call the Tampa Police Department at (813) 231-6130.

"We believe he was driving long enough that he would have had to stop for gas," McElroy said.

Johnson's friends watched this morning's proceedings from the back row of the courtroom and applauded when the prison term was announced.

"Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord," Ganae Norwood said in the courthouse hallway afterward.

Norwood was upset by how Brown answered Perry's questions about Johnson.

"He was talking like she was still living," she said.

Perry asked Brown where he was staying when he stopped reporting to the probation office.

"I was staying with my girlfriend," he responded. "Jennifer Johnson."

When asked who else was in the home, Brown said, "Me and her daughter."

Brown told the judge he would test positive for marijuana use.

Peggy Wojcik, Brown's public defender, pointed out that Brown had turned himself in and said he failed to report because of an ankle injury.

Perry said Brown surrendering had more to do with trying to get compensation for his injury than remorse for violating his probation. He noted that Brown had 19 misdemeanor convictions and five felony convictions.

Johnson telephoned 911 for help from the trunk of a car the night she disappeared. A Plant City emergency operator received the call, and a unit was dispatched but couldn't find the caller.

Authorities were able to identify Johnson from a tattoo of her daughter's name on her shoulder.