Jerrod Ocie Johnson
La Plata, MD – In what Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington called “a pretty nasty case,” Jerrod Ocie Johnson, 32 of Washington, DC, was sentenced to life with all but 45 years suspended in the Maryland Department of Corrections by Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West Wednesday, Jan. 13.
Johnson and two other men came down to Charles County where James Nelson and his family at Falcon Place in Waldorf were preparing to go to work and shuttle their children to school and daycare in May 2014.
“They herded the family back into their apartment,” Covington said. “The assailants knew the male figure, they knew who he was. They thought he had won some money gambling and they came down here to rob him. They tied the family up. They duct taped the mom holding the baby. The other two men took the man out in the hallway and are shooting him. He does not die, thankfully.
“The evidence clearly showed that Johnson was the ringleader,” he added. Sentences are pending for the other two men.
“Mr. Nelson survived, no thanks to Mr. Johnson,” Covington said. “Once they shot him they ran off. He was tied up. The police caught them and they were apprehended.”
Johnson pled guilty to attempted murder and use of a handgun in commission of a crime of violence in March 2015. He faced 32 counts including false imprisonment, faced five years (mandatory) for the use of a handgun and two other counts including first-degree assault.
“It was a very harrowing experience for the family,” Covington stated. “It’s not the kind of thing we can stand for in Charles County. I’m glad we were able to get a plea and a sentence we thought was appropriate.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
