Anthony Aldridge murder of Rudy Johnson

Anthony Aldridge shot and killed Robert “Rudy” Johnson, 24, inside Johnson’s home in Blytheville, Arkansas, on October 25, 2003.

Officers with the Blytheville Police Department responded that day to a reported homicide at 2024 W. Cherry Street. Inside the residence, they found Johnson lying on the living room floor, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police described the body as gunshot-riddled.

As the investigation progressed, detectives developed Aldridge, then 21 years old, as a suspect. Authorities arrested him without incident on Tuesday, December 16, 2003. Aldridge appeared in Blytheville District Court on December 18, where a judge arraigned him on charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery and ordered him held without bond.

Court records later show Aldridge pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. The court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. He entered the Arkansas prison system on November 19, 2004.

Since his incarceration, Aldridge has accumulated more than 70 disciplinary violations, including multiple batteries, threats, and incidents involving being under the influence. Parole records show he was denied parole in December 2020 and December 2021, with parole deferred again in January 2022 and December 2022.

Aldridge is currently housed at the East Arkansas Maximum Security Unit in Marianna. He is 43 years old and his projected release date was June 13, 2021.