A Georgia woman who claimed she was acting in self-defense when she killed her live-in boyfriend was sentenced three days after a jury returned a mixed verdict, according to reports.
While a jury acquitted Quaneesha Johnson on charges of malice murder, the panel found her guilty of other charges, including voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and cruelty to children for a shooting that killed Demonte Smith on November 27, 2022 in Lithonia.
Johnson was sentenced to 20 years on the charge of voluntary manslaughter, with 10 years of confinement and 10 years of probation. The years Johnson was sentenced to serve under confinement were split, with five to be served in prison and five to be served under house arrest.
Johnson will remain out of prison while she appeals her case.
Police were outside the home when the deadly shot was fired, and Smith’s last words, “She shot me. She hit me in the head. She shot me,” were captured by officers’ body-cameras.
Johnson initially called the police to the home she shared with Smith late on Nov. 26, saying he was threatening her. In a motion filed to dismiss the charges, attorneys reference bodycam video in which “the deceased tells police that (the victim) should be scared because she knows that she was wrong for staying out late.”
While police acknowledged that Johnson was the initial caller to 911, officers at the scene said she “repeatedly antagonized” Smith. After Smith went inside the home, Johnson allegedly asked officers what would happen if she shot him in self-defense.
While police remained outside of the home, Johnson went into her vehicle and removed a handgun and a tire iron before returning to the home. Inside, there was a gunshot before Smith came back out of the house and approached police. Video shows the victim tell officers, “She hit me with the metal thing first bro, and then she shot me. Hurry up before I die.”
A key witness for the prosecution was Johnson’s 8-year-old daughter, who allegedly saw the shooting. Prosecutors said the child and her then-2-month-old sister were the only other people inside the house during the shooting. Recordings of 911 calls made by the child and forensic interviews were played for the jury as well.
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