Woman Sentenced to 4 Years for Shooting at Man With Shotgun in 2023
NORFOLK, Va. — Samantha Kay Johnson, 34, was sentenced on Friday to serve four years in prison for attempted malicious wounding and using a firearm to attempt malicious wounding last year when she shot at a man outside her house with a shotgun.
On April 11, 2023, the victim’s girlfriend had an argument with Ms. Johnson and Ms. Johnson’s cousin at Ms. Johnson’s house on Essex Circle. The victim returned to Ms. Johnson’s house later on that evening, but as he approached the house, Ms. Johnson fired a pump-action shotgun in his direction multiple times. Ms. Johnson did not injure the victim but did strike a nearby parked car. The shooting was captured by a nearby doorbell camera and clearly showed Ms. Johnson shooting at the victim. Ms. Johnson claimed that she was firing “warning shots” at the victim, but the victim did not threaten Ms. Johnson and was running away as she continued shooting at him.
In June 2024, Ms. Johnson entered an agreement to plead guilty to attempted malicious wounding and using a firearm while attempting to commit malicious wounding. In exchange for her plea, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss an additional charge and seek a sentence that did not exceed the midpoint of Ms. Johnson’s sentencing guidelines, which was five years. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Ms. Johnson’s plea agreement.
On Friday, Judge Lindsey sentenced Ms. Johnson to serve four years in prison and suspended another four years on the conditions that Ms. Johnson complete and three years of supervised probation and five years of uniform good behavior following her release.
“Ms. Johnson’s claims notwithstanding, Ms. Johnson was clearly shooting at the victim, which is why she has been convicted of attempting to wound him,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Regardless of what Ms. Johnson did, there is almost never such a thing as a ‘warning shot’ in Virginia unless someone is already using or threatening to use deadly force. Anyone who shoots a gun to get someone’s attention is almost certainly committing a crime.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Grace V. Godfrey prosecuted Ms. Johnson’s case, and Norfolk Police Officer Ryan D. Newcome led the investigation.
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