Former gangster Sheldon Johnson, a Joe Rogan podcast guest, arrested after human head found in freezer in New York

Sheldon Johnson was taken into police custody in New York. Photo / The Joe Rogan Experience

A criminal justice activist and ex-convict has been arrested and charged with murder after a human head was discovered in his freezer.

Sheldon Johnson, 48, was arrested in the Bronx in New York on Thursday on suspicion of murder and illegal possession of a firearm after the death of Colin Small, 44.

Officers discovered Small’s torso in a bin and his head and arms in a freezer, and have accused Johnson of shooting the victim and dismembering his body.

Neighbours reported the sound of gunshots in Small’s home, and a man pleading: “Please, don’t… I have a family.”

Johnson, a former gangster who was released from prison almost a year ago, said last month that he had decided to change his life after being sentenced for a series of armed robberies in 1999.

“I really said: I have to change my life,” he told the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on February 1.

“When I got out, I made a decision that I was going to walk away and I didn’t care about what the consequences was.

“And I said to myself, I’ve been doing bad for so long, I’m going to try to do something good. If all else fails, I could always go back to doing something bad.”

Johnson said he was working with young people at Queens Defenders, a criminal justice organisation in New York, and has been pictured with Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney.

As he was led away by police on Thursday, he shouted to reporters: “I’m innocent!”

The apartment manager in Small’s building reported seeing a suspect at 2am on the night of the killing, wearing a variety of disguises and carrying bags and a bin through the hallway.

In one CCTV image, a man is shown wearing a blonde wig under a hooded jacket. The same man appears in different images wearing three different hats.

The building manager told the New York Post he had seen a man acting suspiciously after the shots were heard.

“We tried to see if he took out the bin,” he said. “He never took out the bin. I told them, ‘Look for a bin.’ And sure enough, [the body] was there.”

He added that he had seen the suspect driving away in Small’s blue Audi, wearing the wig.

“[He was] dressing differently, changing his character,” he said. “That’s not normal, he is hiding something.”

Johnson appeared in court on Thursday night and was remanded in custody without bail.