Trial concludes: Sarasota woman found guilty of murder in fatal 2022 New Year's Day shooting

More than two years after a New Year's Day brawl turned deadly with one man fatally shot, a Sarasota jury found the woman accused of pulling the trigger guilty of murder, tampering with evidence and carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon.

LaToya Johnson, 40, of Sarasota, appeared in court for the week-day trial with her attorney Liane McCurry. Johnson was arrested in 2022 for the shooting that killed Alain Sierra, 39, that happened just before 1:45 a.m. inside Patellini’s Pizza on the 1400 block of Main Street. She was charged with murder in the second degree, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and carrying a concealed firearm, according to court records.

A six-person jury deliberated for about two hours Friday before returning with the verdict. After the verdict was read, Johnson briefly turned around to face her family in the gallery and gestured to them as if blowing a kiss as the court deputies urged her to turn back around to face forward. As she exited the courtroom, Johnson told her family she loved them.

Outside the courthouse, Luis Reyes' eyes watered as he gave a statement to the Herald-Tribune which was translated by a victim's advocate. Sierra was Reyes' husband.

Reyes, with his voice hitching, said he misses his husband every single day.

Johnson's defense attorney declined to comment following the conclusion of the trial. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled .

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New Year's Day brawl at Sarasota restaurant turned into deadly shooting

In the early hours of New Year's Day, a fight over someone becoming sick on another person turned deadly when a gun became involved.

Previous reporting by the Herald-Tribune detailed that Sierra, whose identity had previously not been disclosed by police due to Marsy's Law, and his family were seated at a table in a patio area of Patellini's Pizza. In video surveillance, one of Sierra's family members can be seen walking into the restaurant heading toward the bathroom area and appearing to be intoxicated and physically sick.

As they passed by Johnson and her group of friends, seated at a table inside the restaurant, the family member vomited on one of the people sitting with Johnson, according to previous reporting.

This prompted Johnson and her group to approach the family member and began fighting, according to previous reporting. The affidavit states that in a post-Miranda interview, Johnson told investigators she joined the fight and was struck from behind by an unknown person. She immediately took out a revolver, turned and shot the man.

"Johnson is holding a black firearm in her right hand as she is seen on video kicking subjects on the ground," the probable cause affidavit states.

Sierra is seen on the video running toward the fight to intervene and defend his family, according to the affidavit, hitting Johnson on the head. Johnson then turned to the man and shot him, according to the affidavit. Police said the altercation only took 37 seconds.

Johnson's group then exited the building walking toward their cars, and as a Sarasota police officer approached the group, Johnson was said to have tossed her revolver in a planter in the area, according to the affidavit. Police did recover the revolver which was shown during trial.

The affidavit adds that Johnson has a criminal history that includes seven felony convictions, including a conviction in Sarasota County from 2008 when she was sentenced to three years in state prison for carrying a concealed firearm.

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Defense argues shooting was excusable homicide

McCurry confirmed Friday that she argued during trial that the shooting did not meet the standard of being a second-degree murder, instead that the shooting was an excusable homicide, which is a death that is committed by accident in the heat of a moment, like during sudden provocation or combat.

In a motion filed on April 5, 2022, asking the judge to reduce Johnson's bond amount, the defense included details about what it says happened the night of the shooting.

Johnson, who has been in the Sarasota County Jail since her arrest, was given bonds of $1 million for murder, and $50,000 for each count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and tampering with evidence.

The court document states that before entering Patellini's, Johnson, her brother and their group of friends passed by a table of people sitting on the patio and as they passed, four men at the table "began catcalling them and flicking their tongues."

Once inside and seated at their table, the document states that the men outside made "monkey gestures" at Johnson's group, followed by running their fingers across their throats before gesturing for Johnson's brother to come outside.

"Despite the continuing racist, provocative and threatening actions and gestures from the men at the outside table, Johnson's group made every effort to ignore the men outside and eat their meal as reflected by the video, camera seven, provided the defense in Discovery," the court document states.

The motion states that one of the men at the outside table appeared to take some water into his mouth, and then entered the restaurant where he walked up to Johnson's group and spit the water at Johnson's brother. The defense states in the motion that the incident was corroborated by statements made by at least two other witnesses in the restaurant to SPD investigators.

The motion further described that while being held by police in an interrogation room at SPD, Johnson threw up multiple times and had to lie on the floor because she felt nauseated, unbalanced, dizzy, was sensitive to light and feeling "off," which are symptoms of a possible concussion as a result of being hit on the back of her head during the fight.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on X: @GabrielaSzyman3.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Latoya Johnson found guilty of murder in 2022 Sarasota shooting