Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting trooper in Phoenix
Jun 19, 2024, 9:00 AM
Howard Lamar Johnson was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he injured a state trooper in a shooting last year. (MCSO Photo)
(MCSO Photo)
PHOENIX – A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he injured a state trooper in a shooting last year, authorities announced Wednesday.
Howard Lamar Johnson, 35, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after shooting the trooper who pursued him after Johnson fled the scene of an accident in north Phoenix in May 2023, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
The trooper, who was shot several times near the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway and 19th Avenue, was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Johnson was arrested after a barricade situation at an apartment complex near 67th and Olive avenues in Glendale and was shortly due to hospitalized injuries from the original incident with the trooper.
Johnson was a prohibited possessor at the time of the shooting.
“This is a dangerous criminal who shouldn’t have had a gun on him, yet he did,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release. “Through this policy we ensure the public that there are severe consequences for those who unlawfully possess a weapon and pose a threat to our community.”
