NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A previously convicted felon pleaded guilty Monday to his role in a violent carjacking.
Mark Anthony Johnson, 35, arrived at a convenience store on Shell Road in Hampton with two other vehicles on November 20, 2016. Johnson got out of his car and brandished an AR-15 assault rifle at two individuals as he approached the store. He entered the store, brandished his rifle at the store clerk and exited the store.
After exiting the store, Johnson pointed his rifle at the carjacking victim. Another vehicle that arrived with Johnson blocked the victim’s vehicle from exiting the parking lot.
Johnson removed the victim from the victim’s vehicle at gunpoint and struck the man with his rifle. The victim was forced to the ground, and a group of individuals – including Johnson – kicked the victim. The passenger of Johnson’s vehicle drove off in the victim’s car.
Johnson, who is currently on federal supervised release, pleaded guilty to carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He will be sentenced on December 4 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years for the carjacking, a mandatory minimum of 7 years and a maximum penalty of life for brandishing the firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The latter sentence will be conserved consecutive to the former.
