Arrest made in connection with bar employee's murder in Germantown

GERMANTOWN (FOX 29) - According to a police source, a person of interest is in custody as family and friends were gathering Saturday to remember a man who, they say, would do anything for anyone and would never harm a soul.

Philadelphia police say the man, 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, was gunned down inside a Germantown bar Thursday morning.

An emotional tribute on the 300 block of West Chelten for a man known by an entire neighborhood as a quiet, gentle soul gone too soon.

"I think my brother would be just overwhelmed because he was a very quiet man. He could sit in a room and just sit quietly. So to see everyone come out for him would be so humbling for him," said sister Terrie Johnson-Black.

Johnson-Black says her brother was harmless and cannot understand why he was gunned down while working.

The shooting occurred outside the Delmar Bar & Lounge on the 300 block of West Chelten Avenue.

According to police, the man caught on surveillance video sat down in the bar as a customer. Police say around 2 a.m. Thursday morning, he announced he was going to rob the place after everyone left except for a bartender and Johnson who was standing by the door getting ready to lock up. Police say Jeffrey Johnson was shot at point-blank range and killed.

The family thankful for news of a person of interest in custody.

"I was told that it was such an outpouring in the community of support and calling into tips, stuff like that. Cause, truly, my brother never did anything to anyone," Johnson-Black explained.

Inside the lounge, friends paid their respects at a memorial set up inches from the spot where Philadelphia police say Johnson was shot at point blank range during a robbery, just as he was locking up for the night.

"It was just a regular night that night. You never thought it would end that way," said friend Sandra Spence.

Spence says she left the bar a little while before the gunfire and is simply stunned.

"They always say you never know how much you're gonna miss someone until they're gone. I really miss him, yeah. I really miss him," Spence added.

Jeffrey Johnson also being remembered by his niece.

"The last time I saw him, he said he was going to build a new speaker and he never got a chance to, but he already collected stuff to make a new one. So, hopefully, he'll build it in heaven."