Middletown night club shooting suspect jailed in March on gun charges

Middletown police say the suspect from a fatal night club shooting has been in the area for at least a couple weeks because he was arrested in March with a gun and a silencer in his pants pocket.

Malcolm Franklin, 27, formerly of Baton Rouge, La., was charged with aggravated murder and three counts of felonious assault for his alleged involvement in the shooting at 1:45 a.m. Tuesday outside D&J’s Nite Spot, 1200 Elliott Drive, police said.

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Julian Marquis Johnson, 23, of Middletown, was shot and killed, the city’s sixth homicide of the year, matching the number from all of 2016, according to police records reviewed by the Journal-News.

Franklin was jailed in March on gun charges, according to police records obtained by the Journal-News.

During a warrant sweep on March 30, Middletown officers went to a residence in the 2000 block of Queen Avenue to serve an outstanding warrant. Franklin was sitting on the porch and told officers he was waiting on a friend, according to the police report.

Officers searched Franklin and found a Glock handgun with 15 rounds in the magazine. A silencer was also retrieved from Franklin’s left pants pocket, according to the report.

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He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a dangerous ordnance and booked into the Middletown City Jail.

On April 7, Franklin pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 180 days in jail by Visiting Judge Robert Messham, who suspended 169 days of the sentence.

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