Johnny Mount: Waffle House Shooting Suspect Asks About Mississippi’s Death Penalty, Friends Say He ‘Wasn’t A Monster’


Johnny Max Mount, the Waffle House shooting suspect, is accused of shooting a Waffle House waitress in the head for telling him not to smoke inside the restaurant. Authorities are still trying to figure out why the enraged man refused to put out his cigarette, instead choosing to draw his concealed weapon and kill the 57-year-old Julia Brightwell.

Friends of Mount claim he is not a monster, saying he had suffered a traumatic brain injury while working as a firefighter and that he did not have a history of violence before this incident. But when Mount stood before a judge today, his only question was to ask about Mississippi’s death penalty.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Waffle House officials have released a statement about the Waffle House waitress shot in the head.

“This senseless tragedy is a shock for the Waffle House family. Julie was a friend to many as well as a valued member of the Waffle House team,” they said. “She will be greatly missed. Our prayers are with her family, friends, co-workers and customers.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser is asking for donations so the family and friends can afford a proper funeral.

“Julie doesn’t have much family; only me and a few others as friends,” said Linda Kilpatrick. “Therefore, a funeral won’t be placed unless we come up with the money and family located. This fund is to have the money for her bills, burial, and memorial for her. Her two children are grown but can’t be located at this time.”

Pat Warner, vice president of Waffle House’s corporate office in Atlanta, attended a candlelight vigil in memory of Brightwell. Warner says the Waffle House restaurant plans on covering the funeral costs for Brightwell, and will help the family “any way we can.”

Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain set Johnny Mount’s bond at $2 million. Harrison County jail Warden Evan Hubbard said the Mississippi man is being held in the medical block at the jail for medical reasons.

Biloxi police have charged Mount with first degree murder, but when Mount stood before the judge on Monday he only had one question.

“Is the death penalty going to be involved in this charge?” Mount asked Judge Fountain.

In response, Judge Fountain read the laws related to Mississippi’s death penalty. For now, the one charge of first degree murder is not considered a capital punishment offense. The judge also appointed a public defender to Mount, and a preliminary hearing will likely be set within several weeks.

Investigators say the Waffle House shooting in Biloxi, Mississippi, occurred when the 45-year-old Johnny Mount was told that he could not smoke inside the restaurant by Julia Brightwell. Mount refused to comply with the request and began arguing with the waitress. He pulled a concealed 9mm handgun from beneath his shirt and proceeded to shoot her in the head at point blank range. After the shooting occurred, Mount stayed at the Waffle House restaurant until police arrived and arrested him.

“I just don’t understand why somebody would be so upset over a cigarette,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller told the Sun Herald. “Some stuff like this just defeats logic.”

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney says Johnny Mount had worked as a Biloxi firefighter for 10 years before he suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2002 traffic accident. In the middle of the night, Mount was struck by a car as he stood in the middle of a highway. The former firefighter lost his job due to the extent of his injuries, but friends are uncertain what caused Mount to shoot the Waffle House waitress in the head.

“He was a good person,” said Rebecca Berry, a friend of Mount’s family. “He wasn’t a monster. I don’t know, something just snapped. I don’t know of any other volatile things that he’s ever done. I know his mother is devastated.”

Fire Chief Boney is also uncertain what triggered Mount to pull his weapon.

“I don’t know what would happen to push him to that,” Boney said. “It’s just one of those things that is incomprehensible to me. It’s a tragedy for both families. We pray that he can get the help he needs if he needs it. Obviously, he does.”

Berry says she met the Waffle House waitress shortly before the fatal shooting occurred. Berry says Julia Brightwell came out to talk to her family during the after-Thanksgiving day meal. “She asked us about our shopping and if we had gotten any good deals,” she said.

“Our prayers are for the victim because she didn’t deserve this, but pray for both families,” Berry said. “He wasn’t a cruel person. He wasn’t a monster. We don’t understand. Pray for both families.”

[Image via Police Handout]

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