A 74-year-old Virginia man was found guilty of second-degree murder for shooting and killing a disabled man who had knocked on his door by mistake. He was given a 25-year prison sentence. In Norfolk, Virginia, on June 20, 2023, Albert Patrick Johnson, 38, unintentionally mistook Leroy King’s residence for a friend’s.
The prosecution claims that Johnson had returned later that day, still unsure of his destination, after first mistaking King’s door for his friend’s house. King armed himself and faced the disabled man outside his apartment when Johnson knocked again.
Johnson died instantly after King unexpectedly shot him in the neck and torso. Records showed that King had previously been convicted of a nonfatal gunshot in 2003, thus this was not his first violent incident.
A jury convicted King guilty of both murder and using a firearm in the crime, notwithstanding his assertion that he acted in accordance with a purported legal entitlement. King maintained during sentencing that he had a legal right to use lethal force, but the prosecution vehemently disagreed. Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said that Mr. King had no right to shoot the victim, and that King should have been well aware of the seriousness of his acts given his age and previous record.
“He really ought to have known better,” Fatehi continued. I offer my sympathies to Mr. Johnson’s family for losing their loved one in such a senseless manner, he added, speaking to Johnson’s family. There was nothing wrong with him.
Fatehi further cautioned that Mr. King’s sentence is appropriate given his conduct and that he continues to be a danger to the public because he does not recognize that he has committed a crime. Johnson had been disabled since he was injured as a youth, according to Fatehi. However, according to Law & Crime, he surmounted numerous hardships in his life and brought joy and happiness to his loved ones.
King, 74, will spend 25 years in prison after the court ultimately sentenced him to 45 years in total, with 20 years of that sentence suspended. King faces three more years of probation if he is ever freed from prison.
Johnson’s obituary described him as a man with a compelling spirit who aspired to become a famous rapper and gave a larger-than-life presence to those around him. His loss is still very much felt by his family and community.
