Trial underway for Fresno man charged with killing his father’s longtime fishing buddy

Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
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• Stewart Coleman faces murder and a handgun enhancement in Johnson's death.
• Two of three psychiatrists found Coleman insane at the time of the killing.
• Wanda Coleman testified her son told Johnson, "You are here to kill me.".

In honor of Harvey Coleman, a former fishing buddy who died of a heart attack, Carl Johnson stopped by his widow’s home to buy some of his friend’s fishing gear.

Johnson, 70, never got the chance to use it. He was allegedly shot and killed the morning of Aug. 2 2025 by Coleman’s 49-year-old son Stewart whose murder trial began Friday.

Stewart is charged with first-degree murder and an enhancement for using a handgun. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

According to court records, three psychiatrists evaluated Coleman and two of the doctors found him to be insane at the time of the murder, the third determined he was sane.

If Coleman is found guilty, the jury must later determine if he was insane at the time of the murder. If that happens, he could be sentenced to the State Hospital.

During her opening statements, prosecutor Amber Collins, walked the jury through the events of Aug. 2.

Collins told jurors, Johnson didn’t do anything to provoke Coleman that day. He simply was digging through his late friends collection of rods, reels and other fishing gear. The two men enjoyed fishing together for more than 35 years and were part of the same fishing club, Hog Hunters.

Johnson was with Coleman when he had his heart attack on Oct. 10 2024, Collins said.

Coleman’s widow, Wanda Coleman, testified Johnson arrived at her northwest Fresno home at about 8 a.m. and she took him to her husbands storage shed where he stored his fishing equipment.

As Johnson was setting aside several items, Wanda Coleman went back inside the home to get several bags for Johnson. She saw her son exercising on his treadmill. She told him his father’s friend, Carl, was inside the shed looking through his father’s fishing gear.

She said he didn’t seem respond so she went back into the shed.

After a few minutes, Stewart Coleman came outside and stepped into the shed. But Wanda Coleman testified she could sense something was wrong.

“I looked at his eyes and they were kind of blank,” she said. “I started talking to him and I realized he was not quite himself.”

Stewart Coleman then looked at Johnson and said: “You are here to kill me,” Wanda Coleman testified.

He repeated the phrase several times, she said. She also testified that he asked his mother, “Can you hear him, can you hear him?”

“I got into his face and told him he was not seeing what he was seeing and that he needed to calm down,” she testified.

She then saw he was holding a handgun. She used both her hands to grab his right arm, but she couldn’t hold him back. She was trying to pull the gun out of his hand as she told Johnson to get out of the shed.

“But then I tripped on a box and my hand was slipping down my son’s arm as he was trying to get his arm away from me,” she testified. “In a few seconds, he pulled his arm back and I heard the gun go off.”

In the confusion, Coleman thought she was shot, but as she lay on the floor of the shed, she could see Johnson with a single gunshot would to his upper chest.

Johnson later died at the hospital.

Wanda Coleman called 911 after the shooting, as did Stewart Coleman.

Collins played the 911 call where the jury heard the operator ask Stewart Coleman several times if he knew who shot the victim. He refused to answer.

“You need to come and bring help,” the defendant said on the 911 recording.

Blain Sullivan is Coleman’s attorney.

The trial continues Monday.