Jonesboro shooter sentenced to 12 years
Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008
BENTONVILLE — Jonesboro school shooter Mitchell Johnson was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison.
Johnson, 24, previously pleaded guilty to theft by receiving, a class C felony, punishable with a prison sentence ranging from three to 10 years; and financial identity fraud, a class B felony, which carries a punishment from five to 20 years in prison. He had also pleaded guilty of possession of a controlled or counterfeit substance, a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable with up to a year in jail.
Johnson pleaded guilty without the benefit of an agreement with prosecutors, so his punishment is in the hands of Circuit Judge Tom Keith, who will decide the length of the sentences and whether they will be served consecutively or concurrently.
Johnson was arrested Feb. 2 after he admitted being in possession of marijuana when he was questioned by a Bentonville police officer about a credit card stolen from Johnson’s workplace.
Johnson admitted that while working at the Fastrip on South Walton Boulevard in Bentonville, he took a customer’s credit card. Johnson said he used the card to purchase gasoline.
Nicholas Peters reported that he accidentally left his credit card at the convenience store and later found the card was used to make unauthorized purchases in Bentonville and Fayetteville.
Johnson has already been sentenced to four years in federal prison. At the time of his February arrest, Johnson was awaiting sentencing after being convicted in federal court for being a drug user while being in possession of a gun. That federal charge followed a traffic stop in Fayetteville when Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Johnson with marijuana and a loaded pistol and shotgun.
Johnson and Andrew Golden were convicted of five counts of capital murder after they shot and killed a teacher and four students on March 24, 1998, at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro. The two were held at a state juvenile facility until they turned 18. They were then held at a federal facility until they turned 21 for their convictions for having a gun on school property.
The murder and battery convictions could not be used at Johnson’s sentencing, but Benton County prosecutors could introduce Johnson’s federal conviction.
The officers involved with Johnson’s arrests in Benton and Washington counties testified at the sentencing. A Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputy also testified about Johnson’s misbehavior while being held in the county jail.
Johnson’s mother — Gretchen Woodard — testified on behalf of her son. She claimed her son’s life had been a turbulent one as a result of him being verbally and physically abused by his father. Woodard said her son also had been sexually abused by her mother’s neighbor.
“ I believe he wears the pain like a heavy coat, ” Woodard said of her son while answering questions from Public Defender Scott McElveen, who represents Johnson.
Woodard then claimed her son was being persecuted, not prosecuted, because of his history.
Woodard’s statement led Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Carter to seek to introduce the school shooting as evidence in the sentencing hearing, and Circuit Judge Tom Keith granted Carter’s request.
Keith described Mitchell’s history as the 800-pound invisible gorilla that everyone in the courtroom knew about.
“ We all know about it, ” Keith said. “ There’s not a soul in the courtroom that doesn’t know it. ”
Johnson did not testify during the sentencing hearing.
Carter urged the judge to sentence Johnson to the maximum sentence. Carter said Johnson could not follow the rules inside or out of jail.
Carter said he believes Johnson fancies himself as a famous outlaw.
“ If he fancies himself as a famous outlaw, then we should treat him like one, ” Carter said.
“ We are here today because of who (Johnson ) is. He accepted responsibility for his prior acts, ” McElveen said.
McElveen said sentencing guidelines recommend a 36-month prison sentence or probation for others charged with the same crimes as Johnson. McElveen said he could have pleaded the case out to five years of probation if the client had not been Johnson.
McElveen believed it would be excessive to sentence Johnson to 30 years in prison for stealing a credit card and using it to buy $ 31 worth of gasoline.
“ We can’t continue to hold someone responsible for acts that (he has ) already been punished for, ” McElveen said.
Keith told Johnson that he was not being punished for his prior acts, which are relevant in reflecting Johnson’s state of mind and his wiliness to disobey the law.
Keith said the objective and disposition of Johnson’s juvenile case was to bring about rehabilitation.
“ Obviously, that didn’t work, ” Keith said. “ You did not develop a deep, abiding respect for the law. ”
Keith asked Johnson if he wanted his son to grow up and be in a similar position as his father.
“ No, sir, ” Johnson replied.
Keith told Johnson that it may be in Johnson’s son’s best interest if his father is in prison for a long time.
“ It’s easy to be rehabilitated when you are wearing those stripes, ” Keith said.
Johnson apologized to the court and said he was accepting responsibility for stealing the debit card.
However, Johnson’s apologies did not end there.
At least three family members of victims in the Jonesboro school shooting were present in court.
Johnson turned and faced two of them. He apologized for the shooting and told them his prayers are with them.
“ I’m not cold-blooded, ” Johnson said. “ I regret it every day. ”
Johnson said he wanted to apologize to every singe person impacted by the shooting. Johnson also said he let a lot of people down and wanted to apologize to his family.
“ I pray that you give me the chance to be a father to my son, ” Johnson told the judge.
“ If you truly have a conscience and heart, I have no doubt you have been tormented by this, ” the judge told Johnson.
The judge said there’s not much Johnson could do to change the pain of the victims ’ family members, but it may give them peace if Johnson turns his life around.
Keith sentenced Johnson to 12 years in prison and an eight-year suspended sentence for the financial identity fraud. He was given a 10-year suspended sentence for the theft charge and one year in jail for the misdemeanor.
The 12 years will run consecutively to Johnson’s federal sentence.
“ We are pleased with the result and feel justice was served, ” McElveen said after the sentencing.
Johnson must serve his four-year federal prison sentence, then be transferred to a state prison, where he must serve one-sixth of his sentence before he will be eligible for parole.
“ The state is satisfied with the sentence for two reasons, ” Carter said. “ First, Mitchell Johnson is going to have to spend time in our own Department of Correction here in Arkansas after he’s finished his federal sentence. Second, and more importantly, he will essentially be either in prison or under some sort of supervision until he’s approximately 55 years old. ”
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