Shooting victim says jilted love nearly led to death
ALBANY — Autumn Lewis freely admits she asked Michael Johnson, the father of her children, to “go hurt” her ex-boyfriend last summer.
She said she did not want that man, Charles Sojourner, dead.
But on Aug. 23, Johnson repeatedly shot Sojourner as the victim sat in a chair on Second Street in West Hill. Johnson, whose children were present, wounded Sojourner in the chest, stomach and groin. And according to Sojourner, who survived the would-be assassination through a painful recovery process, it was all because he ended his relationship with Lewis — who contends her anger at the victim was over money.
Johnson, 41, of Albany, who was arrested on Sept. 5 by city police, pleaded guilty in November to one count of attempted second-degree murder, which carries up to 25 years in prison. On Wednesday, Albany County Judge Andra Ackerman sentenced the triggerman to 15 years in prison.
“Unable to accept my choices, (Lewis) decided to retaliate in the most extreme and egregious way — to convince the father of her children to end my life,” Sojourner, himself a father of four children, said in a statement at Johnson’s sentencing delivered by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Mccanney. She prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Pittari.
“In front of his children, Michael Johnson walked up to me, and fired at me multiple times,” Sojourner said. “A man I did not know, did not have a history of conflict or violence with. He did not even know my name. He attempted to take my life over trivial circumstances … I wonder if the assailant ever considered how he would contribute to the statistics of children who did not have fathers in their lives?”
The victim added: “Ironically, his thoughtless actions will ulti
mately keep him from his own children.”
Lewis, 34, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal solicitation, a misdemeanor, to resolve a felony charge. She admitted in court that she asked Johnson to “fight” Sojourner and commit a felony assault on him. Lewis’ attorney, Assistant Alternate Public Defender Tim
Berry, reminded the judge that Lewis’ children were present during the shooting; he said his client had no intent for Johnson to shoot the victim.
In turn, Ackerman sentenced Lewis on Thursday to three years of probation.
Following the sentencing, Lewis told the Times Union her beef with Sojourner was over money she says he owed and not jilted feelings.
“Did I tell Michael to go
hurt Charles? Yes. Did I tell him to kill him? No,” Lewis said. “I knew the money was gone. It was honestly just for revenge, I guess.”
Berry added: “Ms. Lewis had no intention that he shoot Mr. Sojourner. That was not in her mind at all.”
On Wednesday, Mccanney, the assistant DA, told the judge that Johnson took accountability for shooting Sojourner when he was interviewed
by a probation officer conducting a pre-sentencing report. But Mccanney said Johnson minimized his crime by claiming he shot at the victim’s legs and did not intend to kill Sojourner. Mccanney said the incident was caught on video, which made it clear he shot Johnson in the chest.
“His actions are egregious,” the prosecutor said. “He does not seem to understand the weight of his actions.”
Assistant Public Defender Rebekah Sokol, who represented Johnson, told the judge her client was extremely remorseful. When afforded a chance to speak, Johnson apologized to Sojourner, his family, as well as his own children and family “for what happened” to the victim. He said he was a single father and “not a criminal” and asked to be judged as such.
The judge was unmoved. She told Johnson his
actions were extremely disturbing and he easily could have killed Sojourner.
“You know, Mr. Johnson, you stand before me and say you’re not a criminal but you are, in fact, a criminal with respect to this case,” Ackerman told the defendant. “You committed a heinous crime ... it’s really disturbing to me that you brought your kids to this situation. You shot someone in front of them.”