DeKalb County District Attorney
10/18/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/18/2024 13:26
ATLANTA MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS FOR ROBBERY AND CARJACKING OF TWO SENIOR CITIZENS
October 18, 2024
State v. Aaron Neil Johnson
Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against an Atlanta man for his role in two violent robberies of senior citizens.
On April 1, 2024, a jury found Aaron Neil Johnson, 22, guilty of Armed Robbery, Robbery, and Theft by Receiving Stolen Property in connection with the robbery and carjacking of two women, ages 74 and 78 at the time of the crimes.
On Tuesday, October 15, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Johnson to 20 years to serve 15 years in custody without the possibility of parole, with the balance to be served on probation.
The charges against Defendant Johnson stem from a series of incidents that occurred between December 5 and December 7, 2019.
According to the investigation, Johnson served as the lookout while Co-Defendant Joshua Bryant approached the vehicle of a 74-year-old female victim at a Chevron gas station in the 2400 block of Gresham Road in Atlanta around 5:25 p.m. on December 5. Bryant struck the victim multiple times with his fists and knocked her down, resulting in lacerations to her forehead and upper lip, as well as a broken hip.
The defendants then stole the victim's car with her dog inside. The dog was later found on the street and returned to the victim; however, the car was never recovered.
On December 7, a black Toyota Camry was stolen from a gas station in Fulton County by two men matching the description of Defendants Bryant and Johnson. Two hours after the theft in Fulton County, the same Camry was used in a carjacking in the parking lot of Kroger on Covington Highway in Lithonia.
Around 4:45 p.m., Defendant Johnson approached a 78-year-old female victim walking in the Kroger parking lot. He snatched the keys from her hand, then jumped into the Camry. The victim ran to her Mercedes while the occupants of the Camry rapidly circled the lot looking for her car. When the victim refused to back away from her car, Johnson exited the Camry, pointed a firearm at her, threatened to shoot her, and ordered her to back away. Defendants Johnson and Bryant then fled the scene in the Mercedes. The victim's wrecked car was recovered three days later.
Defendant Johnson failed to appear for the final day of his trial, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was located and taken into custody in Atlanta on August 1, 2024 after a two-hour SWAT standoff conducted by South Fulton SWAT and the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office. Chemical agents had to be deployed, and Defendant Johnson had to be physically removed from the house where he was located.
Defendant Bryant entered a guilty plea on September 1, 2023 to one count of Robbery and one count of Aggravated Battery and was sentenced to 20 years to serve in custody.
A third co-defendant who served as a lookout, Tiffany Swanson, also entered a guilty plea on September 1, 2023 to one count of Robbery and was sentenced to five years to serve 430 days in custody, with the balance on probation.
The case, assigned to the Crimes Against Elder Persons & Adults with Disabilities Unit, was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Franklin Engram, with assistance from former Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Canavan, Senior Assistant District Attorney Laura Alford, DA Investigator Charles Maupin, and Victim Advocate Tina Williamson. DeKalb County Police Department Detective J. Kearney and Detective J. Berrones (now with the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office) led the initial investigation.
State v. Aaron Neil Johnson
Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against an Atlanta man for his role in two violent robberies of senior citizens.
On April 1, 2024, a jury found Aaron Neil Johnson, 22, guilty of Armed Robbery, Robbery, and Theft by Receiving Stolen Property in connection with the robbery and carjacking of two women, ages 74 and 78 at the time of the crimes.
On Tuesday, October 15, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Johnson to 20 years to serve 15 years in custody without the possibility of parole, with the balance to be served on probation.
The charges against Defendant Johnson stem from a series of incidents that occurred between December 5 and December 7, 2019.
According to the investigation, Johnson served as the lookout while Co-Defendant Joshua Bryant approached the vehicle of a 74-year-old female victim at a Chevron gas station in the 2400 block of Gresham Road in Atlanta around 5:25 p.m. on December 5. Bryant struck the victim multiple times with his fists and knocked her down, resulting in lacerations to her forehead and upper lip, as well as a broken hip.
The defendants then stole the victim's car with her dog inside. The dog was later found on the street and returned to the victim; however, the car was never recovered.
On December 7, a black Toyota Camry was stolen from a gas station in Fulton County by two men matching the description of Defendants Bryant and Johnson. Two hours after the theft in Fulton County, the same Camry was used in a carjacking in the parking lot of Kroger on Covington Highway in Lithonia.
Around 4:45 p.m., Defendant Johnson approached a 78-year-old female victim walking in the Kroger parking lot. He snatched the keys from her hand, then jumped into the Camry. The victim ran to her Mercedes while the occupants of the Camry rapidly circled the lot looking for her car. When the victim refused to back away from her car, Johnson exited the Camry, pointed a firearm at her, threatened to shoot her, and ordered her to back away. Defendants Johnson and Bryant then fled the scene in the Mercedes. The victim's wrecked car was recovered three days later.
Defendant Johnson failed to appear for the final day of his trial, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was located and taken into custody in Atlanta on August 1, 2024 after a two-hour SWAT standoff conducted by South Fulton SWAT and the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office. Chemical agents had to be deployed, and Defendant Johnson had to be physically removed from the house where he was located.
Defendant Bryant entered a guilty plea on September 1, 2023 to one count of Robbery and one count of Aggravated Battery and was sentenced to 20 years to serve in custody.
A third co-defendant who served as a lookout, Tiffany Swanson, also entered a guilty plea on September 1, 2023 to one count of Robbery and was sentenced to five years to serve 430 days in custody, with the balance on probation.
The case, assigned to the Crimes Against Elder Persons & Adults with Disabilities Unit, was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Franklin Engram, with assistance from former Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Canavan, Senior Assistant District Attorney Laura Alford, DA Investigator Charles Maupin, and Victim Advocate Tina Williamson. DeKalb County Police Department Detective J. Kearney and Detective J. Berrones (now with the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office) led the initial investigation.