Minneapolis man sentenced to 22 years for gang-related murder
A 19-year-old man was sentenced on Monday for a murder that authorities say was connected to gang violence.
Christopher Shawn-Michael Johnson, of Minneapolis, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in St. Cloud. He has credit for 734 days already served.
In November 2021, court records show Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony and nearly 22 years (261 months) in prison.
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On Aug. 8, 2021, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) reported four separate shootings at locations where members of the “Lowz” gang frequently hang out. The shootings came a day after a member of the “Highs” gang, a rival group, was fatally shot, according to a criminal complaint.
MPD investigators say retaliatory shootings are a known response “in which criminal street gangs spread fear and obtain ‘respect.'”
Court records indicate one of the four shootings occurred at Skyline Market in Minneapolis around 7:45 p.m. Officials say a man who had no known gang affiliation parked in front of the market and entered.
Seconds later, Johnson and five other people arrived at the market in two different cars — a Dodge Charger and a stolen Porsche. Officials say two men in the Dodge Charger entered the market and immediately began firing at the victim, continuing as he ran out of the store.
As the victim ran from the store, he was clipped by the front driver’s side door of the stolen Porsche, the complaint added. The suspects continued to fire at the victim as he ran from the store and the suspect’s vehicles.
The complaint states that the victim then reportedly ran around a corner and collapsed at the entrance of a nearby alley. Surveillance video shows the stolen Porsche come around a corner and approach the alley before a suspect and Johnson get out of the car.
Johnson and a suspect fired at the victim as he lay on the ground. He died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
Johnson, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was also not allowed to own a gun due to a previous adjudicated conviction of robbery in 2018.