Cedar Lake teenager gets 20 years in prison for killing friend

A Cedar Lake teen got 20 years Wednesday after admitting he fatally shot his best friend in the chest around a campfire.

Denver Johnson, 18, pleaded guilty Nov. 1 to reckless homicide, a level 5 felony, and a firearms enhancement. He faced up to 21 years.

The shooting killed Jason M. Paholik Jr., 16, of Crown Point on May 28. A grainy black-and-white video captured the incident.

Johnson’s family and lawyer — including the victim’s mom — said it was a tragic accident, while prosecutors firmly argued it was on purpose, saying Paholik took something — maybe marijuana — out of Johnson’s bag.

The group had been drinking beer, according to documents. The video appears to show four people, including Johnson and Paholik, were around a fire pit when Johnson appeared to cock the gun. He points it at Paholik. Paholik walks out of camera view then back toward him.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,” someone there says.

Johnson lowered the gun for a moment before raising it up again and firing. Paholik appears to fall to the ground. “Jason! Jason!”, a boy says. “Denver, Denver, Denver, what did I just (expletive) tell you,” someone yells.

Johnson called 911.

“We were playing around with a gun and he got shot,” he told the dispatcher. The dispatcher asked who shot Paholik and Johnson responded, “Me.”

The dispatcher tells him to get a cloth to try to stop the bleeding. Paholik’s brother is the one left to do it, while Johnson stays on the phone.

“I’m probably going to go to jail, right,” Johnson said at another point. “I can’t believe this (expletive) just (expletive) happened.”

Paholik’s dad, Jason Paholik, Sr., said he sized him up from day one.

“Ever since I met you, Denver, I never cared for you,” he said. He told him that day to pull up his pants, dismissing him as a “wannabe thug.” He wanted to keep Johnson away from his sons, but his ex-wife let him hangout with them, he said.

“Look where you are today,” he told Johnson. “You deserve to serve a long time, to think about the life you took from my family.”

His ex-wife, Jennifer Paholik, Jason’s mom spoke on Johnson’s behalf. After watching the video, she still thought it was an accident. Punishing him with a long prison sentence isn’t what her son would have wanted, she said.

“Unlike Denver, Jason was taught gun safety,” she said. “Jason also believed the gun to be unloaded. He was smiling and dancing in front of it.”

Her son was a “very good judge of character,” she said.

“I do not want Denver molded by prisoners,” she said. “He was an immature kid that made a terrible, terrible mistake.”

Deputy Prosecutor Bernie Johnsen pressed her on why she stayed in the courtroom when the video was played. She said

she wanted to hear the 911 call. He also asked why she was speaking on Johnson’s behalf when he killed her son.

He didn’t do it on purpose,” she said. “That would be totally different.”

Johnson’s grandmother January Michaels tearfully asked the court for mercy. Paholik and Johnson were friends for nearly a decade. They “practically lived together” at her daughter’s house and had plans to move in together after he finished high school.

Deputy Prosecutor Chris Bruno countered that Michaels lied that she had information on the case, coming to prosecutors to try to convince them to drop the murder charge.

He argued Paholik’s family grieved, while Johnson’s family was playing “games” trying to portray him as a “victim” and advocate on his behalf. Sixty letters written to the court were “similar” as if they had been coordinated.

The teens had been outside with “no supervision.” The father was the “only” one “acting like a parent,” Bruno said. This isn’t an “accident,” he later said. “This is as close to recklessness as you can get”.

He asked for a split sentence — a total of 18 years in prison with 1.5 years in Lake County Community Corrections and another 1.5 years on probation.

Johnson “is not a victim here,” his lawyer Sean Mullins said. “I know his family is being supportive.”

His story hadn’t changed in six months and the lawyer said he believed it — Johnson didn’t think the gun was loaded.

Prosecutors had said Johnson FaceTimed his mom right afterward to say he shot Paholik. He turned on his cell phone flashlight and picked up shell casings.

“To me, it’s an 18-year-old panicking,” Mullins said.

The two other teens took off and unfortunately, Paholik’s brother was the one to do what the paramedics were telling Johnson to do. By calling 911, “I think he was trying to save his friend,” the lawyer said.

They had a “special bond” and he had “zero belief” Johnson would have pulled the trigger if he thought it was loaded. The gun was a gift from Johnson’s boss, Mullins said. It was something he treated as a “toy”.

“Looking back, he wished he would have turned that down,” he said.

He asked for three years — half in prison with half in community corrections and five years on probation.

Johnson apologized in court. Paholik was his “little brother” and he prayed every day that the teen’s family could forgive him.

Judge Samuel Cappas said it was a “terrible” tragedy that hurt everyone involved. No sentence would be “curative” or “healing.”

He was old enough to know you don’t point a gun at someone unless you plan to kill them, he said.

The detective noted police files said Johnson claimed he was a Gangster Disciples member; that was roundly disputed by family in court as a kid’s posturing. His friends clearly knew he should have been playing around with the gun, the judge said.

Police responded at 11:42 p.m. May 28 to the 12000 block of Burr Street in unincorporated Crown Point for a reported shooting.

“He’s in the back! I shot him!” Johnson told officers.

Paholik was transported to a hospital, but had likely already died, according to court documents. Johnson said he didn’t think it was loaded when he pointed it “point blank” at Paholik’s chest and pulled the trigger.

It was an “accident,” he said.

Johnson “passed out” at the scene and was also taken to the hospital for observation. Police recovered a Glock 17 9mm gun, records show.

Paholik’s mother told police her other son woke her up, saying Johnson shot Paholik in the backyard. She “could not believe this,” because they “have been best friends forever.”

Johnson’s mother echoed this, telling police there’s no way he would have shot Paholik on purpose. A witness told police everyone was sitting around the campfire around 9 p.m. when they started drinking beer.

Johnson was handling a gun “as if it was a toy.” He pointed the gun in the air and shot into the woods a few times. It was the first time a witness saw Johnson with a gun.

The witness thought mixing beer and a gun was a bad idea. He was talking to a girl when he heard a “gunshot,” then saw Paholik on the ground with a “hole in his chest.” The shooting at 11:30 p.m. was captured on camera.

Johnson was charged with reckless homicide on May 30, before it was refiled about a week later as a murder case with a sentencing enhancement — which added 15 more years to his prison term.