Man Held In Slaying, Mutilation Of Teen -- Tyrell Johnson's Friend Still Missing, Feared Dead

A 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the slaying of Tyrell Johnson, 19, who was found shot to death in South Seattle last month.

The suspect was arrested last night in an apartment in the 9500 block of Rainier Avenue South, detectives reported.

Johnson's body, wrapped in a bedspread, was discovered in a wooded ditch Aug. 10 in the Rainier Valley. His killer had shot Johnson once in the head, cut off his legs and tried to sever one arm.

Police said a companion of Johnson's, Michael Sylvester Scott, 20, of Seattle, remains missing. Investigators and the man's family fear Scott also has been murdered.

Johnson and Scott were last seen together Aug. 9, at a gambling club in the Central Area. Speculation is that the pair won a lot of money, were robbed and then murdered so they could not identify their attackers.

Detective Hank Gruber said today Johnson's murder was not gang-related. "This is not a case of one gang against another," he said.

Gruber said detectives still are investigating whether drugs or gambling was involved in the death and disappearance.

Though Johnson's parents say their son wasn't a gang member, police believe Johnson was affiliated with the BGDs, or Black Gangster Disciples. Associates of Johnson say he drifted in and out of a gang, mostly because many of his friends were gang members.

Viola Grace, Johnson's mother, said this morning she was relieved to learn after waiting for five weeks that an arrest had been made. She said detectives called her about a week ago to ask if she was familiar with the man under suspicion, but said she had never heard of him nor heard her son speak of him.

Johnson dropped out of high school in his junior year. He was unemployed and had been convicted of three felonies, including a drug charge for which he served time in jail this spring.