Police said Isaiah Johnson surrendered in Galveston after a deadly apartment parking lot shooting.
LEAGUE CITY, TX — A 38-year-old Magnolia man has been charged with murder after police found a woman shot to death inside a car Monday afternoon at a League City apartment complex, authorities said.
Isaiah Johnson was arrested after the shooting at Harbor Walk Apartments, a residential complex on East FM 518 in Galveston County. Police said the victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found dead in a Toyota Corolla with multiple gunshot wounds. Relatives identified her as Joanna Walton, though authorities had not publicly released her name as of Wednesday. The case has drawn added attention because police and court records describe a prior relationship between Johnson and Walton, including earlier violence and an unresolved burglary charge.
Officers were called to the apartment complex at about 2:25 p.m. Monday for a reported shooting. Police and fire personnel arrived and found the woman dead behind the wheel of a silver Toyota Corolla in the parking lot. Investigators said Johnson left the area in a Hyundai Santa Fe before he was taken into custody. A League City police statement said detectives quickly identified Johnson as a person of interest and shared his information and the vehicle description with nearby agencies. A short time later, the Galveston Police Department told League City detectives that Johnson had arrived at its station and surrendered without incident. Police said the investigation remained active.
Surveillance video described in local reporting shows Walton’s silver car entering the apartment parking lot shortly after 2 p.m. A red sport utility vehicle, which witnesses said was linked to the suspect, is seen coming from a nearby carport and moving toward the area where Walton parked. About two minutes later, several faint popping sounds can be heard on the video. Witnesses described those sounds as gunfire. One witness told police he saw a man walk to the victim’s car and shoot her 11 times. Witnesses also said the shooter looked through an open back window of Walton’s car before returning to the SUV and leaving the area.
Johnson and Walton shared a son, according to police and court documents described in local reporting. Walton’s relatives said Johnson had harassed her for years after their breakup. Records cited in the case show Johnson had been accused in 2023 of trying to shoot Walton. Police said the gun jammed, and Johnson pistol-whipped her instead. Records show Johnson later pleaded guilty in that case and received 30 days in jail and 10 years of probation. He also was ordered to complete a battering intervention program. The details place Monday’s killing within a longer record of alleged domestic violence, though Johnson is presumed innocent on the new charges unless convicted.
Police also said Johnson was wanted on a burglary of habitation charge tied to a July 2025 incident while he was still on probation. According to an affidavit described in local reporting, Johnson was accused of breaking into Walton’s apartment and sending threatening text messages. In one message, he allegedly wrote that he did not want their son to see her again and that he did not care if he threw away his life to make that happen. In another message, he allegedly referred to Walton’s face with blood on it. Records show a warrant in the burglary case was issued in August 2025 but was not served until Johnson surrendered Monday.
Johnson was booked into the Galveston County Jail on charges of murder and burglary of habitation. During a court appearance Tuesday, bond was set at $360,000 across the charges. Court records available through local reporting did not immediately show whether Johnson had an attorney who could speak for him. Police have not said whether investigators recovered a firearm, and they have not publicly detailed the full chain of events leading up to the shooting. Authorities also have not said whether anyone else was injured at the apartment complex or whether the victim lived there.
The shooting happened at Harbor Walk Apartments, a complex near East FM 518 in League City, southeast of Houston. The area includes apartments, shops and roads that connect to nearby Clear Lake and Galveston County communities. On Monday afternoon, the parking lot became the center of a homicide investigation as police gathered evidence, reviewed surveillance video and spoke with witnesses. The public details released so far point to a brief encounter in the lot, followed by a surrender in Galveston about two hours later. The gap between the prior warrant and Monday’s arrest is among the unresolved questions surrounding the case.
League City police said detectives continue to investigate the killing. The next formal steps are expected to move through Galveston County courts, where prosecutors will handle the murder and burglary cases. No hearing date beyond Tuesday’s bond setting had been publicly reported as of Wednesday. Johnson remained jailed while investigators worked to complete reports, review video and gather statements. Walton’s relatives, meanwhile, identified her publicly and described years of fear and harassment before the shooting.
As of Wednesday, July 1, Johnson remained charged but not convicted, and League City police had not released a final investigative summary. The next major update is expected through police records or Galveston County court filings.
Author note: Last updated July 1, 2026.