A local man accused in a 2021 Lake Dallas killing is now jailed in Collin County on a murder charge amid a string of other felony allegations.
Brandon Kingsley Johnson, 44, is being held in the Collin County jail on a first-degree felony murder charge, along with charges of aggravated robbery, assault of a peace officer or judge, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and evading arrest with a vehicle, according to jail and court records.
Jail records show Johnson was booked on February 6, 2026, and remains confined in the facility. As of Monday, bond amounts were not listed on the murder and aggravated robbery charges in the Collin County Sheriff’s Office system. A $105,000 bond amount was reflected in one entry without an associated offense description.
Brandon Kingsley Johnson
Johnson, Brandon Kingsley
Court filings indicate Johnson has two pending felony cases in the 380th District Court in Collin County before Judge Benjamin N. Smith.
In one case, filed by indictment on October 2, 2025, Johnson is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Court records show that on January 5, 2026, a warrant was executed after the defendant “failed to appear or contact court. Defendant’s name called 3 times at courtroom door. No answer. Bond forfeited. Judgment nisi against principal and sureties in the amount of $50,000.00. Alias Capias to be issued for the arrest of the Defendant. New bond set at $100,000.00.”
In a separate case filed by indictment on April 29, 2025, Johnson was charged with evading arrest or detention with a vehicle, a third-degree felony. Court records reflect that on January 5, 2026, a warrant was executed after the defendant failed to appear, and bond was forfeited. A new bond was set at $5,000, according to the docket.
Johnson is represented in the Collin County cases by attorney Rick Weaver, court records show. It was not immediately clear whether Weaver also represents Johnson on the newly listed murder charge in Collin County. The Dallas Express reached out to Weaver for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Johnson was previously indicted in Denton County in the February 6, 2021, shooting death of 38-year-old Michael Darrough at an apartment complex in Lake Dallas.
According to an appellate court opinion in The State of Texas v. Brandon Johnson, “In March 2021, Johnson was arrested for the murder of Michael Darrough.” The opinion states that at approximately 2:22 AM on February 6, 2021, officers responded to a reported shooting near 300 E. Swisher Road. Surveillance video allegedly showed that “The left rear passenger (later identified as Brandon Kingsley Johnson) can be seen concealing a handgun in his waistband,” and that “Johnson, who was the shorter subject, can be seen pausing twice to fire multiple times at the victim and then running back to the Ford Focus.”
That Denton County case was dismissed by a trial judge over what the court described as “reckless” discovery conduct by the state, but the dismissal was later reversed on appeal. The appellate court wrote that it would “reverse and remand the trial court’s order because the record does not reflect that the trial court considered alternative remedies short of the drastic step of dismissal that could have possibly cured any harm to Johnson.”
The Denton County murder case remains active following the appellate ruling, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported in 2024.
It was not immediately clear whether the Collin County murder charge is connected to the Denton County case or stems from a separate incident.
The listed “issuing authority” for the assault and aggravated robbery charges is the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. The issuing authority for the murder charge was the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, although Collin County Sheriff’s are marked as making the arrest. There was no listed “issuing authority” for the evading arrest and firearm charge.
