South Bend man sentenced to 20 years in May 2022 shooting that left two dead
SOUTH BEND — A South Bend man who initially faced murder charges was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday following a plea deal where he admitted to manslaughter in an May 2022 shooting.
John Thomas, 31, was in court Wednesday and St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha issued his sentence. Thomas admitted to fatally shooting Eric Johnson, 32, after an argument near the LaSalle Park Homes on the west side of the city. That incident also resulted in the death of 25-year-old Annaliese Matson, who was Thomas' girlfriend and a passenger in his car, though no criminal charges were filed in connection to her death.
Thomas entered a plea deal with prosecutors where he admitted to voluntary manslaughter, a less severe offense than murder, in exchange for prosecutors dismissing a pending burglary case and one pending domestic battery case.
The sentencing range in Indiana for voluntary manslaughter is 20 to 40 years. Marnocha gave Thomas a 20-year executed sentence.
Thomas was originally charged with murder for a May 14 shooting that started on the west side of South Bend but ended on the east side of the St. Joseph River.
Court documents filed in Thomas' case say Thomas and Matson drove to the area of West Jefferson Boulevard and South Wellington Street shortly after midnight on May 14 when Thomas' sister called him to say a woman had been trying to get into her car.
When Thomas and Matson arrived, Thomas got into an argument with Johnson, who court documents say was an acquaintance of Thomas. Shots were fired.
Court documents cited "audio and ballistic evidence" that led investigators to believe Thomas fired at Johnson twice and Johnson fired 10 shots in return. Johnson died at the hospital.
Thomas drove away, but Matson was apparently hit during the exchange because Thomas called 911 some 20 minutes later to report she had sustained a gunshot wound, court documents say.
At the time Thomas called 911, the two were in the 1100 block of Cedar Street, east of downtown, and court documents noted that "between the initial location of gunfire and the 1100 block of Cedar, Thomas would have driven within a few blocks of Memorial Hospital."
Matson died from a single gunshot wound, though it is unclear who fired the shot and no criminal charges have been filed in connection to her death.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend man sentenced to 20 years in May shooting that left 2 dead
