A former convict who became a criminal justice reform advocate was arrested on several charges including murder after police found a human torso in a Bronx apartment while conducting a welfare check.
The gruesome discovery was made Tuesday just before 8:30 p.m. at a Summit Avenue apartment, the New York City Police Department said in a news release.
"Upon arrival, officers found an unidentified human torso at the location. EMS responded and pronounced the aided deceased on scene," police said.
The victim was identified as Collin Small, 44. The torso was found at Small's apartment.
The suspect, Sheldon Johnson, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder, manslaughter, weapon possession, concealment of a human corpse, and criminal contempt, online records show. He was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty.
Johnson, 48, had previously spent 25 years in prison for attempted murder when he was a high-ranking member of the Bloods gang, NBC New York reported.
After his release, he began working for the Queens Defenders office as a client advocate. The office declined to comment on Friday.
In February, he appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast where he talked about how he had turned his life around following his time in prison.
“One thing I learned really really quickly when I got to prison was that prison does two things to you: it brings out the best or it brings out the worst,” he said.
Police officials said a neighbor reported hearing gunshots coming from Small's apartment and saw a man coming and going from the building multiple times, carrying cleaning supplies, according to NBC New York.
Surveillance video outside the apartment's front door showed a man carrying cleaning supplies and a full black garbage bag, the news station reported.
Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that it was Johnson on the surveillance video and when officers searched his apartment they found the victim's head, arms and legs in the freezer.
The medical examiner will determine Small's cause of death.
Johnson is being held without bail. His attorney could not be reached for comment on Friday.