Sarasota man, 23, pleads guilty to 35 years in prison day trial is supposed to start
A 23-year-old Sarasota man was sentenced to 35 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty following a hearing based on Florida's Stand Your Ground law in which the judge ruled in favor of the state.
Johnny Evans pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the second-degree misdemeanor of openly carrying a firearm. The maximum penalty is life.
Sarasota Circuit Judge Dana Moss adjudicated Evans guilty on Monday, the day his trial was scheduled to start, and sentenced Evans to 35 years in prison with a 25-year mandatory minimum. Evans was also sentenced to 15 years for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon to run concurrently and time served for the misdemeanor charge.
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Evans reserved his right to appeal the denial of his Stand Your Ground motion and all other pretrial motions, according to a court document.
Assistant State Attorney Karen Fraivillig said after the outcome of the July 14 immunity hearing both sides settled on 35 years.
In early January 2022, Sarasota police were searching for Evans in connection to a fatal shooting in the 1900 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Way, according to previous reporting.
An affidavit states a witness standing outside of Moore's Grocery flagged down a passing police car and directed them to follow a vehicle that fled down N. Washington Court. The sergeant lost the vehicle on Leon Avenue.
Interviews with witnesses and surveillance video showed that the suspect parked the car at Moore's Grocery just before midnight and left the vehicle running when he went inside the store. Surveillance video showed the suspect walking into the store carrying a firearm in his right hand, according to the affidavit.
The victim approached the car, opened the driver's door, and rummaged through the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The driver walked out of the store and confronted the victim verbally, according to the affidavit. Both witnesses told detectives they heard two gunshots and then saw the driver get in his car and drive away.
Fraivillig praised lead detective Maria Llovio for her careful work on the case. Fraivillig said that Llovio learned that the car belonged to Evans' father and when she went to speak with him, Evans called.
Fraivillig said Evans told his father on the phone that the victim had pulled a knife and tried to stab him. However, his statement contradicted what he'd told his girlfriend hours after the shooting. Evans told her that he thought he'd seen a gun on the victim, Fraivillig said.
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Following that call, Evans fled to Mississippi, Fraivillig said. Evans was at-large for two months before the U.S. Marshals Service found him and extradited him to Florida.
Sarasota police also received a phone call from an inmate at a federal prison alerting them to where they could find the gun used in the shooting, Fraivillig said. When the gun was sent for analysis, it matched the spent bullet casings found at the crime scene.
Judge rules to continue with trial following immunity hearing
Two weeks prior to the scheduled trial date on July 14, Evans’s defense filed a motion to dismiss his case based on statutory immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
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Evans's defenses in the motion stated that on Jan. 5, 2022, Evans went to Moore's Grocery to pick up a tobacco product and once he was inside, he was told it would cost more than what Evans had on him. Evans told the clerk he'd grab additional change from his car where he found the victim rummaging inside.
Evans and the victim got into a verbal argument, at which time Evans said he recognized the victim "as someone from the neighborhood who frequently robbed people," the court document states.
During the immunity hearing, Evans claimed that when he pulled the victim from the car, the victim allegedly told him he was planning to go "joyriding" and that he would kill Evans. Evans said those statements made him fear for his life.
"In fear for his life, (the) defendant fired two rounds in self-defense and fled," a court document states.
When Evans was confronted during cross-examination at the July 14 hearing, he denied telling his father over the phone that the victim had pulled a knife and was trying to stab him.
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 Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota man pleaded guilty in connection to Moore's Grocery shooting
