18 years? 18 YEARS!
Virginia Beach man pleads guilty to shooting wife in 2008
By Shawn DayThe Virginian-Pilot© January 13, 2010
VIRGINIA BEACH
A 26-year-old man admitted in court Tuesday that he locked his two children in a bedroom and then shot his wife and himself in the head nearly two years ago. Both he and his wife survived.
Jacob A. Johnson pleaded guilty to charges of child neglect, aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend Johnson be sentenced to serve no more than 18 years in prison.
According to court records, Johnson initially told investigators he was high on acid when he shot his wife, Kendra, and himself in July 2008 in their home on Springbreeze Court, near Lynnhaven Parkway and Riverbend Road.
During Tuesday's hearing, however, Johnson admitted that his wife had demanded a divorce on July 14, 2008. Later that day, he bought a .40-caliber handgun.
The next night, records show, Johnson locked his two children, ages 2 and 4, in a bedroom and shot his wife in the head as she slept. He later shot himself in the head.
Police said neither Johnson nor his wife showed up for work for several days, and family and friends became worried after they were unable to reach them. A relative who stopped at their house July 18, 2008, discovered the bloody scene.
Jacob Johnson was in the hospital for several days and transferred to Central State Hospital, where he underwent months of treatment to restore his competency to stand trial. He entered the courtroom Tuesday with a walker and told the judge he understood the charges and plea.
Kendra Johnson, who has difficulty speaking and still hasn't regained the use of one arm, walked in with relatives. She declined to comment after the hearing.
Formal sentencing is set for March 30.
And to the jackass in the comments who says " ...we don't necessarily know the full story", kiss my ass. What more do you need to know? He has admitted the whole effing thing!
Argghhhh!!!! Ok, I can't have the death penalty. Fine. How about you sentence him to 5 minutes in a room with her Dad and his friends - yeah, that includes me.
Unreal. This news did NOT make my day...
ReplyDeletePlea bargains generally mean either the prosecution has a slam-dunk case and a trial would be pointless, or the prosecutor feels his case is iffy for some reason. It sounds like the facts that prove premeditation only came out during this weasel's allocution; before that the prosecutor probably believed the LSD story, and figured he had a real chance of losing because the guy was drugged and "incapable of understanding the consequences of his action" -- I think that's the way the lawyers usually say it.
ReplyDeleteAs for "five minutes alone in a room" -- why bother? Could you do anything to him that's worse than living the rest of his life as a brain-damaged cripple with the knowledge that he's too stupid and incompetent to successfully kill himself ... even with a big-bore handgun?
Bull - Yeah, I know.
ReplyDeleteWW - He's not a brain damaged cripple. The walker was for show. His injuries were always deemed of the "Chuck Stuart" nature. He never meant to hurt himself.
The police knew the LSD story was hooey from the beginning because of the gun.
I think it's a lazy prosecutor.
Sounds to me like a measure of judicial corruption, too. How much do you want to bet that the perp gets out early for good behavior? And the wife and kids live with this forever.
ReplyDeleteConcur Susan. I also see him walking early. But Kendra has a fantastic family. Tons of siblings - parents apparently liked each other, lol. And she has a Navy family too, her Dad is CAPT Dale Fuller (commanding officer of Amphibious Squadron (CPR) 3). He is one of Princess Crabby's favorite Sailors!
ReplyDelete