Man sentenced in 2019 killing of East Village homeless shelter security guard
SAN DIEGO — One of the two men found guilty in a 2019 shooting that resulted in one East Village homeless shelter security guard dead and another injured was sentenced to prison, prosecutors said.
Johnny Hill, a member of a criminal street gang, was sentenced to 55 years to life, plus an additional 26 years in prison, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a news release Friday. On Sept. 14, Hill and Floyd Garrett were found guilty of second-degree murder with a special allegation of personal gun use causing death, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The shooting occurred in December 2019 at the Alpha Project homeless shelter at 1700 Imperial Ave, which the DA says “lies within territory claimed by ‘Crip’ criminal street gang sets and is an area primarily used for gang related drug sales and acts of violence.”
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Two security guards from the homeless shelter, Ernest Buchanan Jr. and Dorian Cunningham, returned from their break when they were shot at by the defendants as they walked into the administration trailer, according to prosecutors. Both were hit, with Buchanan dying from his injuries and Cunningham suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
“Our office will never stop fighting to make neighborhoods safe from violence,” DA Stephan said. “Ernest Buchanan Jr. was a beloved member of the Alpha Project family and his own family, and his life was mercilessly taken without justification. San Diego Police Department Detectives working with the DA Gangs Unit put this case together piece by piece in order to obtain justice for the victims and hold the offenders accountable. Although this sentence will not bring back Ernest Buchanan Jr., we hope his family finds a measure of justice in the jury verdict and sentence in this case.”
San Diego police have responded to 6,187 calls involving violence in the area of 1700 Imperial Ave, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Garrett will be sentenced on Jan. 22, 2024.
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