NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A woman was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday after shooting at a man with a shotgun in 2023.
According to officials, on April 11, 34-year-old Samantha Kay Johnson got involved in an argument with the victim’s girlfriend and Johnson’s cousin at her house on Essex Circle.
Later on that same day, the victim returned to Johnson’s house, where Johnson then began firing a pump-action shotgun towards the direction of the victim. Johnson claimed she was firing “warning shots,” but police said the victim was running away at the time and that he did not threaten Johnson.
In June of 2024, Johnson entered an agreement to plead guilty to attempted malicious wounding and using a firearm while attempting to commit malicious wounding in order to dismiss an additional charge.
On Friday, Johnson was sentenced to serve four years and to suspend an additional four years on the condition that she completes three years of supervised probation and five years of uniform good behavior.
“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,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said. “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.”
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