Family, Friends Remember Pizzeria Worker Shot On The Job
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The owner of the Golden Pizzeria and Grill on South Orange Avenue in Newark returned to his restaurant Sunday, a day after his employee, 55-year-old Calvin Johnson, was gunned down there.
"The guy shoot him in the back. He dropped on the floor in the front of machine," owner Rafael Lemmo told CBS 2's Ann Mercogliano.
Prosecutors say Johnson was winding down from a 12-hour shift when someone walked in and shot him around 11 p.m. Whoever shot him apparently wasn't after money.
"No, all the money (is) in the register," Lemmo said.
Johnson's wife says he worked there for more than three decades. He was a father of six, with his youngest only 10-years-old.
"Last time I seen him was at 5:30 yesterday. I told him I love him and to hurry up and come home, but he never made it. He never made it back home," wife Nina Patton wept.
Maria Ortiz was working when Johnson was shot. She says she saw someone jump over the counter and that she ran to a back room, frightened.
"Somebody jumped and me go in the back," she said. "I see somebody taking boom boom boom and that's it. I see the mess on the floor. He died."
The restaurant was closed Sunday, and friends and residents are leaving balloons and candles in memory of Johnson.
Residents are planning an anti-violence rally at the scene on Wednesday.
Anyone with information that could lead to an arrest is urged to call police.
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