Slidell man fired a shot through a window of his ex-girlfriend’s home in St. Bernard and arrested after high-speed chase to Slidell; He had a mask, an AK-47 rifle, a hand gun and high-capacity magazines in auto

Two St. Bernard sheriff’s detectives working the Johnson case, Det. Capt. Mark Jackson, left, and Det. Michael Schiro, with the mask and small arsenal of guns and magazines found in Johnson’s car after his arrest.

Thomas Johnson, 20, to be booked in St. Bernard with attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend

A 20-year-old Slidell man fired a gun through a window of his ex-girlfriend’s home in Violet early Wednesday, March 27, and was arrested after a high-speed chase at more than 100 mph to Slidell, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

And authorities are wondering what else the suspect was up to, based on what was found inside his auto after the arrest: a mask and a small arsenal.

There was an AK-47 rifle, a 40 mm Glock hand gun believed used in the shooting, three high-capacity magazines for the rifle with 7.62 mm rounds, two fully loaded 15-round magazines for the hand gun, a fully loaded 30-round magazine and a 12-round magazine.

Thomas Johnson, 340 Autumn Lakes Road, was arrested by State Police and St. Tammany sheriff’s deputies after 2 a.m., following him being chased to Interstate 10 by St. Bernard sheriff’s deputies Lt. Ricky Jackson and Thomas Lala, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

No one was injured in the 1:40 a.m. shooting into the living room window of a home in the 2900 block of Daniel Drive in Violet, where Johnson’s ex-girlfriend lives, Sheriff Pohlmann said. She said they had recently broken up and Johnson removed his belongings from the house the day before.

She also said she was lying in the living room and recognized the distinctive sound of Johnson’s Mustang when she heard him pull up on the front lawn, she said in an incident report afterward.

She said there was tapping on the front door, followed by a blast of a gun through the living room window, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Not hit, the woman ran to a back bedroom while a relative of her’s ran to the living room and fired a shotgun back through the window at the assailant, the sheriff said. She also said she then heard what she believed to be Johnson speeding away. A casing was found outside the home.

Sheriff’s deputies spotted Johnson and the Mustang speeding on Paris Road, heading toward the New Orleans line, several minutes after the victim called the Sheriff’s Office.

The deputies tried to stop the car, using lights and sirens, but the driver refused and they eventually followed him to I-10 East, where Johnson headed toward Slidell at speeds above 100 mph, the sheriff said.

Once in Slidell, State Police and St. Tammany sheriff’s deputies took control of the pursuit, Sheriff Pohlmann said. Johnson exited the interstate and stopped in a store parking lot on the service road, where he was arrested.

Johnson denied firing a gun through the woman’s living room window, saying he only tried to retrieve an item he left at the house.

Johnson was jailed in St. Tammany Parish but could be returned to St. Bernard Parish within days to be booked with attempted murder and aggravated flight from officers. Sheriff Pohlmann said.

His vehicle was brought to St. Bernard and was searched after a search warrant was signed by a judge. The mask and guns were found in the vehicle at that time, the sheriff said.