PHOENIX – After last year shooting an Arizona Department of Safety trooper, a man will spend two decades in jail.
Howard Lamar Johnson III was sentenced to 20 years in jail for the offense on Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.
Johnson left an accident on May 30, 2023, and a trooper on Loop 101 close by 19th Avenue pursued him. Johnson shot the trooper several times before zipping off as he pulled him over and tried to apprehend him.
Law officers followed Johnson to a Glendale apartment building where he holed himself inside hours following the shooting. Later authorities were able to apprehend him and 27-year-old Sonia Hernandez, who allegedly assisted Johnson in fleeing.
Though he was hospitalized, the soldier recovered fully.
Johnson was a prohibited possessor and carried several criminal convictions at the time of his arrest. “This is a dangerous criminal who shouldn’t have had a gun on him, yet he did,” Mitchell said in a statement. “Through this policy, we ensure the public that those who unlawfully possess a weapon and pose a threat to our community have severe consequences.”
Source: azfamily.com
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