ELYRIA — With God on his lips and a gun in his hand, county Common Pleas Judge James Burge sent Justin Johnson to prison for 18 years to life for the murder of his girlfriend.

Burge preached forgiveness after Johnson pleaded guilty to murder and other charges Wednesday in connection with the September 2006 shooting death of 19-year-old Andrea Whitfield. But he used a gun to demonstrate that the shooting wasn’t the accident Johnson claimed it to be.
Johnson, 24, gave an anguished apology to Whitfield’s family.

CHUCK HUMEL/CHRONICLE

Mary Whitfield, mother of Andrea Whitfield, hugs Justin Johnson, who pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend in 2006. Judge James Burge said of the case: “Both families lose here — a son, a daughter.” Johnson was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.

“I love her. I ain’t never meant for this to happen. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I love Andrea. I miss her so much,” Johnson said, sobbing.

“It’s OK, just look to God,” Whitfield’s sister, Tonya Whitfield, said to Johnson as he slumped down at the trial table after he spoke.

It was a far cry from the angry words the two families exchanged before the hearing. Burge told both sides that if they were truly Christians, they would forgive, move on and leave the courtroom as brothers and sisters.

They did.

At the end of the hearing, Whitfield’s mother, Mary Whitfield, hugged Johnson, and other family members did the same through tears.

“I have to accept it,” said Johnson’s father, Darrell Johnson. “This is what my son wanted.”

Johnson had backed out of the same plea deal Monday because his family was concerned about the life sentence. Johnson had offered to serve 20 years in prison, but prosecutors refused, saying they would ask Burge to give Johnson the maximum sentence of 28 years to life if they won at trial.

Johnson’s family was still pressuring him to fight the charges even as he was pleading guilty.

His mother, Brenda Milton, and several other members of his family were escorted from the courtroom after disrupting the hearing by trying to get Johnson to change his mind.

“Take it to trial, Justin,” Milton called out as she left the courtroom.

Jack Bradley, Johnson’s attorney, said his client wanted to go through with the plea.

“He lost the love of his life, and I believe (Whitfield) was the love of his life,” Bradley said.

But, Burge said, pulling out a revolver similar to the one Johnson used to gun down Whitfield, there was no way Johnson didn’t deliberately pull the trigger. Johnson had to either cock the gun or put extreme pressure on the trigger to fire it, Burge said.

Burge said he didn’t doubt Johnson’s claim that he didn’t mean to kill Whitfield and that he was truly sorry she was dead.

“When he says ‘I didn’t mean to do it,’ that I believe,” Burge said. “… I have never seen a person more remorseful than Justin Johnson.”

The couple, who dated for about 2½ years, was out partying the night of the shooting. They had returned to the South Abbe Road apartment they shared and police believe Johnson killed her during an argument.

The next day, Johnson called police and said his girlfriend had been shot by some men who broke into their apartment. He later told police he had climbed into bed that night without realizing Whitfield had been shot.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---