Chris Johnson, owner of Johnson Funeral & Cremation Services, was in a
courtroom Wednesday – this time in Magistrate Court for a
dispossessory case and a separate civil claim from a local business
for alleged unpaid advertising.
The dispossessory case dealt with rent Johnson allegedly owed his new landlord. Johnson had planned to move the funeral home from its location at 2760 US Highway 441 South to the building at 202 North Madison Avenue in downtown Douglas. Johnson had been renting the building for several months prior to his October arrest but was behind on the rent. He was also behind on the rent at the 441 South location, which is why he was being served an eviction notice on October 26, 2024.
That morning, as the notice was being served, officers made a grisly discovery. There were 18 decomposing bodies in the funeral home. Johnson was arrested the next day and charged with 17 counts of abusing a dead body. Authorities added three counts of violating vital records registration and one count of theft by taking to the original 17 charges. More are expected. Johnson has been jailed ever since.
Wednesday, Johnson was in court to settle the two civil actions against him – the dispossessory hearing regarding the North Madison Avenue location and a civil statement claim filed by a local media company for non-payment of advertising. The court ruled against Johnson in both cases.
In the dispossessory case, Johnson was ordered to pay $8,200 in back rent, miscellaneous costs, and court fees. The court also ruled that Johnson should pay $3,350 in the civil claim.
Johnson was also scheduled to appear in Superior Court Thursday for a bond hearing. However, that hearing has been continued until January.