Johnson traveled to Colorado to buy marijuana

Dorian Johnson said in his interview with investigators on August 13, 2014, that he had traveled recently to Aurora, Colorado, and had visited some "dispensary stores". The context of this remark was a conversation that Johnson and Michael Brown had with Pipe Foreman about marijuana and hash. (The other construction worker, Pipe Laborer, did not participate in that conversation.)

Johnson  We even talked to two construction workers working outside of his [Brown's] building, at the bottom. .... We had a conversation with one [Pipe Foreman] of those guys. ....

We ask him, did he smoke weed? 

He replied. He didn't feel offended. He said, no, he do other things. .... He said, "No, I don't smoke weed, but I do this thing called 'wax'." It's like they smoke it out of a pipe. ....

Prosecutor What kind of drug is it?

Johnson  I just recently took a trip from Colorado, Aurora, so I was in dispensary stores and stuff like that. I'm looking around.  I know what hash is. 

When he [Pipe Foreman] says "wax" to me, it threw me for a loop. That's an extra drug. 

[Pages 48 - 49]

Colorado had begun allowing special stores to sell marijuana on January 1, 2014. 

In about June 2014, Johnson had become unemployed, a condition that would have given him the free time to travel to Colorado. In about May, Johnson had met Brown, who was living in the Northwinds apartment complex, immediately east of the Canfield Green apartment complex, where Johnson lived. Johnson testified to the grand jury about how me met Brown.

Johnson   I only been staying in those [Canfield Green] apartments  for about eight months [previous to August 9, 2014 -- since about January 2014]. I met Big Mike around the fifth month [in about May] that I was living there. 

I met him through a friend [Best Friend] that I know from the area, down the street where he [Brown] lived [in Northwinds Apartment Complex]. 

I was working at the time of my first moving into the [Canfield Green] apartments.  I recently lost my job around the sixth month [June]. I met him [Brown] in the fifth month [May], so now I'm on the verge of finding new work and finding a way to pay the bills. So I was not able to connect with him [Brown] on a daily basis or even every other day because I'm trying to find work.

He [Brown] stayed in an apartment complex behind [Canfield Green] -- there is another one [apartment complex] called Northwinds, right behind Canfield [Green] -- when I met him [Brown]. 

Prosecutor  So when you first met him, he was living with his grandmother in Northwinds?

Johnson  Correct. Yes, ma'am.

[Pages 20 - 21]

When Johnson was interviewed by investigators in August, his baby was four months old (page 57) -- so, Johnson became a father in about April.

Canfield Green Apartment Complex initiated eviction proceedings against Johnson on July 7 for failure to pay rent. 

Assembling known facts, I suggest the following time-line for events in 2014:

April  Johnson was employed and became a father. 

May While Johnson still was employed and living in Canfield Green, he became acquainted with Brown, who was living in Northwinds. They were introduced by another person who lived in Northwinds and already knew Johnson. 

June  Johnson became unemployed. He did not pay his June rent for his apartment. 

July On July 1, Johnson met Piaget Crenshaw (details will be provided in a later post). On July 7, eviction proceedings were initiated against Johnson.  

In the following days of July, Johnson was "on the verge of finding new work" and was "not able to connect with him [Brown] on a daily basis or even every other day". While unemployed and unable to pay his rent, Johnson traveled to Colorado and visited legal dispensaries that sell marijuana. 

August Every morning, Johnson told the grand jury, he visited the apartment of a man in Canfield Green who supplied cigarillos to him. From his supplier's apartment, Johnson would travel away from Canfield Green to buy breakfast-to-go and bring it back to his girlfriend. 

On the morning of August 9, however, Johnson's supplier did not give him the daily supply of cigarillos. The supplier did provide some marijuana to Brown right before Brown and Johnson went to the Ferguson Market and Liquor to steal some cigarillos.